


The Deadly Dozen

by Thatonedude



Series: The Royals Series [2]
Category: No Fandom, Original Fiction - Fandom, Original Work, freeform - Fandom, non fandom
Genre: Adopted Character, Angst, Chicago, F/M, Family Drama, Fluffy, Infedelity, Jealousy, M/M, Manticore, No Sex, No Smut, Original Fiction, People of color all over the place, Sexual Confusion, Sirens, Supernatural Creatures, Supernatural Hunters, Urban Fantasy, Werewolves, confused emotional situations, continuation of the royals, hunting society, strained sibling relationships, the deadly dozen, the royals - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-05-17 13:51:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 23
Words: 113,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5872816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatonedude/pseuds/Thatonedude
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Almost a year after their wendigoes encounter in Colorado, Avery Bishops and Mike Maki try to live a life free of hunting. The supernatural and hunting world have a different idea. Will they be able to escape the life they don't want?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The deadly dozen is a sequel to my previous story called "The Royals" things like character changes and relationships might make more sense if you read the royals first.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The deadly dozen is sequel to my prior story the royals.

Prologue

It struggled against his hold. It was useless for it to resist him, but he was curious how long it was willing to fight him. It stood feet in front of him snapping its jaws at him, hissing and growling. It was pissed off, it was a good thing, and he was going to need it to be angry for when he finally released it. He chuckled, the deep sounds of his voice made the creature dazed for a second, then it would be back snarling at him. Its mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. Manticores were not an easy type to control, especially one so young and relatively new to its powers. It dropped on all fours, a lion ready to pounce on its prey. From this angle he could see the spikes jutting out of its spine, completely covered in poisons and paralytics. It flexed its claws on the soft dirt below it leaving marks. Dark reddish hairs covered its forearms and neck. They were spiky and sharp. To him, this thing was just an overgrown porcupine. Violently bright gold lights swirled around the manticore forcing it into submission.

“Sit down!” He ordered, putting as much of his will as he could into his demand. The lights grew in intensity with the more power he forced into the air. The manticore flinched in rebellion to his orders. Its body wanted to do what he told it to but its mind was still fighting for control. “I said sit!” He shouted stomping his foot. The light ignited into a blinding flash illuminating the forest around them.

“No!” Its voice was deep and gravelly. It pounced on him knocking him unto the ground. Speaking was the most humane thing it had done since he had begun watching it, up until then it had been nothing but an animal. It was holding on to its human side, that was why it was resisting his control, its manticore side was making its human stronger. It slashed at his arm breaking through his jacket and cutting skin. To anyone else the scratch would cause paralysis, but because of what he was it was nothing but a numbing sensation. 

“I’ve had enough of this.” He hissed up at the thing grabbing its face forcing it to look at him. Its eyes were humanlike but its face was a distorted lion’s by its shift into the manticore. Angry grey eyes glared at him from beneath its wild and dirty hair. “Sit down!” He repeated. Just going after its sight and hearing was not enough for the thing to go under his control, perhaps touch, sight, hearing, and scent combined would be enough. The lights continued to fight with the lion growing in numbers as the man focused his powers to attack more of the manticore’s senses. There wasn’t many creatures in the world that could resist his command after he attacked just two of its senses. This manticore might have been young but it was strong willed and wrathful, exactly what he needed to destroy the one rising to power. As the other rose to power, he felt his own dwindle. Nature wanted them to share the glory, but he had other plans. The manticore had stopped struggling in his hold and pulled away sitting down like a dog waiting for an order. “Good boy.” He said pleased at his capture. “Let’s go we have some others to recruit if we want to win.”


	2. Start Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike and Avery try to make a life on their own outside the supernatural and hunting world.

Chapter Text

Chapter 1 Start Over

The scent of the food hit Avery before he was even in the building. It was cheesy, greasy, and full of carbs, everything doctors told people not to eat. It was what made it taste so good. The scent alone made him smile. It had become a familiar scent, a distinction of somewhere he belonged. It had been a while since he had felt that way. He opened the door to the restaurant to find the place flooded with customers, every table was filled. A small group of people stood at the counter eating, lunch time was on. He didn’t have a chance to take it all in before his roommate Mike tossed an apron at him. He caught it and opened it to look over it. It was bright yellow with a small frill at the bottom. It had dark blue on the front of it in the shape of a smiley face. Mike knew how much he hated this apron, it was the only one in the restaurant that wasn’t just plain and black. He wasn’t the only one who hated the apron, it was why no other waiter wore it. He rolled his eyes and made his way to the kitchen. It was supposed to be his day off. He had worked the last six days straight and had been looking for a day off, even if it meant working on his home projects. He had only managed to help his other roommate Brooks set up to start replacing their floors. The restaurant had one of the waitresses call off and he was called in to take her place. He hadn’t anticipated how unreliable people would be in general when he bought the restaurant. There had been at least one call off every week. He and Mike had bought the restaurant a few months earlier from an elderly couple and were doing all they could to keep business going as smoothly as possible. It was hard when neither of them knew what they were doing. He tied the apron tightly around his waist, it really stood out against his black t-shirt and dark jeans. He stopped at the assignment wall, he had drawn a layout of the tables in the dining room so that the waiters working could see what their assigned tables were. It was one of the many new ideas and changes he had added to the restaurant when they took over.

“Kady had tables six through twelve.” Jerilyn, a waitress at the restaurant said handing him a small writing pad and pen that he had tucked into her snake skin belt. The perky strawberry blonde had been the one to take over Kady’s tables until Avery arrived. “The little kid in table nine is deathly allergic to peanuts.” She pointed to one of the papers she had handed him with the note written in a bright red and underlined several times, the color matched her nails. Jerilyn turned back grabbing a tray with food and heading out into the dining room. He pulled his hair back into a ponytail. From the way everyone was acting it was clear that he was going to be busy, his hair flying everywhere was the last thing he needed. He stopped moving when he saw his reflection in a small mirror by the assignment wall. He was still not used to seeing himself with lighter colored hair. He had dyed it for the first time in his life, nothing crazy, he changed it from black to a dark caramel shade. Mike was the one that did a more drastic change. She went from jet black to ice blonde, with dark roots and blunt eyebrows of course. She finished off her look with bright carmine lips. The hair and makeup looked great with her Japanese features. They had done it because they all needed a physical change. So much had changed for them in the last year or so that they finalized it with presenting themselves differently to the outside world. Avery riffled through the papers to catch himself up on what table had ordered what food. It was getting easier for him to remember what order got taken to which table. His first time being a waiter was a complete disaster. He had messed up all of the orders and mixed up people's drinks. He very unsurprisingly didn't make very good tips that day.

“We didn’t get the right shipment this morning.” Mike said showing him the receipt from the delivery truck. She had her hair partially pulled back. She was rubbing the back of her neck, stressed from all of the bullshit she dealt with managing the restaurant. Avery looked over the order guide, Mike had highlighted several rows in bright pink. “They sent us three cases of chicken and no cases of fish.” She explained. She looked like she was ready to pull her hair out and he didn’t blame her. He looked over her pouty expression. The alterations in Mike’s appearance made her change from looking angelic and innocent to looking like a high fashion Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She had been there since the restaurant opened that morning and things had not been going as smoothly as they could have been going. Things must have been going bad, Mike was usually the perky one of the group. “On top of that, the chicken they sent is dated to go out tomorrow, so everything with chicken is on special right now until we get rid of it.” She didn’t wait for him to respond before spinning on her heals and heading to the office in the back of the kitchen. Avery sighed adjusting his apron-he had a tendency to tie too tightly-he turned to the cooks. In all honesty he didn't know much about running a restaurant or working at one, aside from making sure he got along with the employees.

“Hey guys.” He greeted to the four men running around each other to prepare food. He tried not to make it obvious that he wasn’t sure about their names. Avery was never very good with names; faces were more his thing. It had been a few months he should know their names by now he was too ashamed to ask at this point. The men danced around each other in a chaotic dance routine. It was impressive how they managed to miss hitting each other every time one of them turned.

“Hey boss.” One of them responded. He placed several plates on a black tray and slid toward him. “Table seven is ready.” He saluted him and turned his attention to the food he was cooking on the stove. Avery took a deep breath and lifted the food. Waiting on people was a constant test to his social anxiety. He put on his best smile and opened the door to the dining room. The chaos in the kitchen was nothing compared to the mess in the dining room. Kids were screaming from every direction. He had to stop abruptly barely managing to keep the plate on the tray, all because a woman couldn't wait for him to pass and cut him off as she was leaving.

“Sorry about that.” He put on his best smile for her, she clearly believed he was in the wrong. He had always considered himself a people person-until he actually started working with people. In his experience customer service is the worst form of torture-and he knew torture. “Okay sir,” He said approaching table seven. It was a man sitting alone. He didn't look much older than Avery, maybe 25 years old. Avery was never very good at telling people's ages. When he first met his sort of boyfriend Brooks he thought he was in his mid-thirties, turned out he was only 27. Close enough for Avery but what did he know, he was only 22. “We've got chicken tenders and fries.” He half sang setting down the first plate. The man smiled up at him. He was handsome, dark features, most likely Hispanic but it was better for Avery not to assume. Some people get very insulted when others assumed. “And over here we have a bowl of our loaded potato soup.” Avery continued. The man was looking his face over as if examining every detail, it made him feel a bit self-conscious. The man looked familiar but he didn't know from where. “How are we doing on drinks?” He asked hoping to get attention away from his face. The man hadn't touched his water. Water rings had begun to form at the base of the glass.

“I'm good thank you…uh” His voice was smooth and soothing it took Avery by surprise. The man looked to the spot where all the wait staff usually wore their name tags. Avery didn't have his, he hadn't planned to be going into work that day.

“Oh, Avery.” He responded. “Sorry forgot the name tag today.” He laughed nervously.

“Avery.” The man answered surprised. “I assumed your name would be a bit more Spanish…”

“Oh yeah.” Avery said. “I get that a lot.” He knew he had what most considered traditional Latino features. Dark hair, brown eyes, and bronze skin, full lips, heavy lashes.

“So how did you get your name then?” The man leaned in. The man had similar features to him. To be fair they were in southern California about an hour away from Mexico so there was a lot of people that looked like him. The man’s attention was making Avery a bit uncomfortable. Most people didn't look that closely at his person regularly.

“I was adopted.” He responded, he stopped talking. Oh no, he had given away too much information. He's supposed to be laying low. He needed to put space between them before he asked anymore questions. “I'll be back to check on you in a few minutes.” Avery smiled turning to leave. The man nodded. How could he have said something about his old life when he was trying to start over…he had to watch his mouth. He lived in a small town now, words travelled fast in small towns.

“It was nice to meet you Avery.” The man said turning to his food. Avery didn't turn back to look at him and headed to the next table in his section. He couldn't believe he said something to that man.

Avery had been living in southern California for about four months now. He, Mike, and Brooks had taken the prior four months to roam the country in search of some place where they could start over. They traveled to multiple places but not every place seemed as low key as Clear Waters, California. It was a nice quiet town. People mostly kept to themselves. It was big enough to keep the three of them busy but small enough to keep them from getting in any trouble. They needed to lay low for a while, mostly Avery.

He was a siren. Like…a siren from Greek myths. The myths weren't entirely correct but they had some validity to them. He didn't know he was a siren until less than a year prior to moving to California. Up until that point he had believed that sirens were all female. He used to live with his family in Chicago. He and his older sister Roz were inseparable. He missed her, he had only spoken to her a couple of times when it was absolutely necessary. He didn't want to leave his family but he had to. When he was an infant he was adopted by a family of supernatural hunters. His family came from a long line of very powerful, very well connected hunters. He knew that if anyone outside of his family found out he was a siren it could ruin their reputation and their life. So he left. At least until he learned to get his powers under control. Mike was from a family of hunters too. She and Avery were part of a group hunt that led to the deaths of three of their fellow hunters. Anna Felkent and Max and Kit Battaligna. Avery had had a hateful relationship with the two Battalignas and people thought he was partially responsible for their deaths but he wasn't. He knew people in the hunting community were going to watch him regardless so he decided to hide away until he absolutely needed to see them again. The less that people watched him, the less likely he’ll mess up and expose his powers.  
Sadly for him the occasion to see them again was coming up. The major hunting families were going to be holding a ceremony to induct three new hunters into the Deadly Dozen to replace Anna and the Battaligna brothers. Hunters all over the world had been competing amongst themselves to be considered for the Deadly Dozen. Both Avery and Mike were a part of the Deadly Dozen as were their siblings-so they had to attend. The Deadly Dozen was an elite group of young hunters from all around the world, they were believed to be the best of the best. Hunting families fought tooth and nail to have their children inducted into this. Those who were part of the Deadly Dozen eventually become part of the hunting council. The council makes the rules and regulations for all active hunters in the world. The Deadly Dozen and the Council meant you were powerful and important and loaded with cash.

He continued to serve the other tables. The man at table seven sat watching him the entire time. Avery tried to stay away from him but it was hard considering he had to continuously ask him how everything was going. He tried to avoid any real conversation with the man by asking mostly yes or no questions. He never realized how hard it was to keep a legitimate conversation when there was a restriction like that. He was relieved when he saw Brooks walk into the building. The blonde werewolf searched the dining room until his eyes spotted Avery. A smile overtook his face as he approached the waiter. He had a great smile, wide and welcoming. He had small wrinkles in the corners of his eyes from smiling all of the time. Avery could see the bright blue of his eyes from across the room. Of course Brooks was hot, all werewolves were. It was part of their allure and predator vibe.

“Hey.” The blonde greeted tugging on frill of Avery’s apron.

“Hi.” Avery returned the smile and leading him to table twelve, it was the table farthest back by the kitchen. “Hungry?” He asked. Brooks slid into the booth nodding his head. “The usual?” Avery continued.

“Please.” Brooks smiled up at him. Avery nodded before turning to go back into the kitchen. Having the wolf near him melted some of the anxiety off of him. Usually being around Mike helped too but she was still in the office.

“I need a gravy burger with a side of cheese curds please.” Avery called out to the cooks and posted the ticket with the order on the order wheel and moved on to the soft drink fountain. He filled one cup with orange soda and a second with Hawaiian punch. He took both drinks back to the table where Brooks was waiting for him. “I’ll be right back.” Avery stated setting the drinks down and checking on the rest of his tables. Brooks watched him as he walked talking to customers from table to table. The two of them had kind of been together for nine months. The “kind of” part was all on Avery’s side, Brooks was all in from the beginning. Avery knew how his siren powers affected others, he knew they affected Brooks immensely. What he didn’t know was how to tell the difference from siren induced emotions and genuine emotions. It wasn’t that Avery didn’t have feelings for the werewolf but he wanted to wait until his powers were under control. Regardless he didn’t want to lead Brooks on. He was thankful with how calm and supportive Brooks had been with him and his development. Brooks had actually been the one to help him try to use his powers on a regular basis to get better control. No matter how calm and supportive the wolf could be he also knew that he wasn’t going to be calm and supportive together. Despite the struggle, Brooks had high hopes for him and Avery.

“I’m back.” Avery said sitting across from him. “How is the wood flooring going?” He asked.

“Good.” Brooks answered sipping from his drink. The two had been working on replacing the floor and door frames in their home before Avery got called in to work. “Kind of boring when I have to do it by myself.” Avery smiled at that.

“Well I’d rather be there than here.” He admitted. “Things are kind of crazy today.” He added. Brooks nodded behind him to the man at table seven. “Yeah he keeps staring at me.” Avery said not turning back.

“Do I have some competition?” Brooks laughed.

“He kind of looks like me.” Avery responded half laughing and playing with the cup of soda in his hand. Brooks looked at the man again and shook his head slowly like he didn’t see any resemblance. “So if I was interested in him we would have bigger problems than mere competition.” He looked up at Brooks studying his face while the wolf was still looking at the man at table seven confused. Maybe they didn’t look alike as much as he thought they did. It was moments like this that he could freely look at the other man. As much as he cared for Brooks he always kept his distance. Looking each other eye to eye would always cause feelings to rise and Avery couldn’t let that happen. Not yet. He moved his eyes away and focused on the drink in front of him when he noticed Brooks was looking back at him. He could feel the tension mixed with disappointment coming from Brooks. It was a gift that sirens had, sensing and seeing other’s emotions. Avery was wondering if he could return this gift to the original sender. It was his gift that was separating him from being with Brooks.

“Are we all still going out for drinks tonight?” Brooks asked trying to put the moment behind them. Avery nodded.  
“Yeah I think Mike really needs it. She looked like she was ready to scream when I came in.”

“Drinks?” Jerilyn asked from the register, she had a charming southern twang to her speech. “I’m in.” She didn’t wait until either of them responded before she returned back to one of her tables with the customers change and receipt.

“I guess Jerilyn is in.” Avery laughed sliding out of the table. “I’m gonna go check on my tables.” He whispered adjusting his apron again. Brooks watched him walk away seeing out of the corner of his eye that Jerilyn was watching him too. From the moment they had met Jerilyn, Brooks knew that she was somewhat interested in Avery. In all honesty he knew a lot of people were attracted to Avery but it was something that came with being a siren. Avery’s laugh broke his attention from the waitress. He turned to see Avery talking to group of women a few tables away from him. The one closest to him was touching his forearm as they all laughed together. Avery was flirting. It made Brooks jealous but he couldn’t be. It was Brook’s idea that Avery begin flirting with people at the restaurant, it was a good way for him to practice his powers and generate business. The tip jar was always overflowing when Avery waited on tables. As much as the wolf hated to admit it Avery was getting better at subduing his abilities when he started flirting with the people there. Brooks didn’t come into the restaurant very much because of that, he was a werewolf and wolves were very territorial about what was theirs, he had to constantly push his wolf side down. He sat alone for a few minutes looking over the menus on the table before Avery returned with a plate of food for him.  
“Looks great.” Brooks said unwrapping his utensils.

“Thanks I put the order in myself and everything.” Avery laughed taking one of the cheese curds. “I’ll go get you some more soda.” He said taking the almost empty cup and going back into the kitchen. Brooks noticed the man at table seven standing up to leave. The man was still watching Avery. The wolf tried to take in as much of the man’s face as he could, he still didn't see much resemblance to Avery as the siren had claimed, well aside from the obvious Latino-ness they both shared. The man nodded at him before pulling his wallet out and placing cash on the table. He adjusted the buttons on his dress shirt and wiped his pants. He was very well dressed and put together. The man looked at his watch and walked out of the door. Brooks saw Jerilyn watching him leave as well. Maybe she had seen the way the man looked at Avery and she was jealous too. Or maybe she wanted the second rate Avery for herself. Avery came back to the table and set the drink in front of Brooks. “I’ll check up on you in a few.” He walked to table seven and began to clean it up. Brooks continued eating his food in silence.  
Avery began to clean the plates from table seven. The man had not eaten much, waste of food really. The water had still gone untouched. He took the money from the table. It was too much to be right. The total bill was only fifteen dollars, the man had left a fifty.

“Didn’t know you were here.” Mike said sitting across from the wolf. She lay her laptop in front of her. She had been dealing with merchants all day. “How’s the flooring going?” She asked. She opened the laptop and typed in her password. Brooks just smiled not answering. He knew she wasn’t really sitting with him to talk but to get out of the cramped little office she and Avery shared as owners and managers of the restaurant. He liked having her company regardless. She and Avery had bought the restaurant together to give them something to do. It wasn’t their original plan. When the three had chosen to stay in Clear Waters they planned to stay away from the people in town. It was much easier said than done. They grew stir crazy at their plantation home within three weeks. There was only so much fixing up that they could stand to do. Both Avery and Mike were millionaires thanks to their parents but they didn’t want to use that money unless absolutely necessary. They needed a way to keep themselves busy and this restaurant was on the brink of closing down. They bought it from the old couple who owned it and began to run it themselves. They changed the menu slightly and refurnished the inside. They had only been in business three months but they were starting to see that they may be in for more than they originally thought. They were currently looking for a manger with real experience to run the restaurant to help them but hadn’t found anyone they really thought would fit what they needed. “I give up.” She said closing the laptop. “I’ll deal with it when I get back from Chicago.” She put the laptop in its case and set it aside. “Cannot wait until we find a manager.”

“Well at least the restaurant is doing well with business.” Brooks motioned to the crowded tables. Most small businesses were lucky to make money within the first year.

“Yeah well it won’t stay that way if Avery and I keep managing it with no experience.” She took a sip from Avery’s drink. “These people are mostly first time customers and with good management we can keep them coming back which is what we want.” He slid the cheese curd towards her in offering. She took a few and slumped back into the booth seat. “I’d rather just be a waitress honestly.”

“Trade you.” Avery said bringing her a cup filled with Hawaiian punch. She nodded taking it and sliding his cup in his direction. He handed Brooks a napkin from his apron motioning to his chin. Brooks wiped his face, his beard had caught some gravy. He looked to Avery asking if he had gotten it all. Avery shook his head laughing. He took the napkin with one hand and held Brooks’s chin with the other. The werewolf studied the siren’s features as he cleaned his face. He had grown attached to the dark features. He saw Avery look at his lips for a split second. He had to hold back a smile at that.

“I think I’m ready to call it a day.” Mike said taking another sip of her drink. “I’m so tired of talking to these vendors and getting nothing in return.”

“Tell them you will find new vendors if they keep up the crappy service.” Jerilyn said to her from the register. She punched in numbers and the cashbox opened with a ding. She counted money quietly before closing the register again.  
Avery turned to Mike moving his eyebrows in Jerilyn’s direction. “She’s got a good idea.” He whispered. “You think she’ll take the manager job?” Mike looked over at the waitress. She nodded to herself pondering the idea. “We can bribe her with a raise of something.”

“I can’t wait to go home and train to get some frustration out.” Mike huffed out. “Then drinking heavily.” She half laughed. That was one of the perks of owning their own restaurant, they got to choose the hours. The restaurant was open from seven a.m. to four p.m. They only had a couple of hours left in their day. Training was a constant with the three of them. Every night the three of them would train to keep their hunting skills up to task. They had even taken a couple of hunts on since they had arrived. One of them was a string of deaths in Mexico near a large cemetery. After research they found it to be a succubus luring men to their deaths. Avery felt bad putting her down, the succubus was young and new but once a supernatural creature kills an innocent it’s only a matter of time before a hunter comes after them. If he didn’t kill her some other hunter would, that hunter might even find him and Mike.

Brooks sat with them for about half an hour more before he decided to get back to working on the wood floors. Avery walked him out of the restaurant and to his car. The two hugged goodbye and awkwardly kissed each other on the cheek before he left. Avery returned to the restaurant a bit crestfallen at how weird things were getting between him and Brooks. Avery and Mike traded jobs for the remaining time to save Mike’s sanity. The two were thankful when four o’clock finally came around and only the staff was left in the building. They spent the next hour cleaning up every surface they physically could before heading home to train. The two of them stood at the door watching as all of their employees got in their cars and took off. They were always the last two to leave, it was a safety thing. They figured if anything supernatural would attack them it would wait until they were alone. Making sure that their employees were safe was important to them. Being from a hunting family meant a lot of people in the world didn’t like them. There was no such thing as being “too safe.”


	3. Spiral Stairs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group of friends goes out for drinks. Avery catches someone's attention.

Chapter 2 Spiral Stairs

Training went by quickly for the three of them. Mike was the main focus that night since she had the most pent up angst from her work day. Both Brooks and Avery helped her. She had always been fast, one of the fastest in the Deadly Dozen so stamina was where she focused. The group had several ways to test her on that. Usually just sprinting back and forth in their back yard with the occasional obstacle thrown at her. One of the many things the two hunters missed from living with their families was the constant access to training facilities with endless amounts of training equipment. It was probably one of the major setback to living in Clear Waters, they couldn't train without being seen. They had bought a large plantation style home at the edge of town, their yard was enormous and gave them enough space to train they even had a decent sized river on their property, a few miles away but still on their property. They had to keep it simple when training though, to not attract attention since they had to do it outside. Their house may have been large but it wasn't suited for training. Six bedrooms, four bathrooms, two floors, with a wraparound porch and balcony. It was a beautiful house, but that's all it was at this point a house. Their homes were somewhere else. Once they were happy with their cardio they made their way into the large basement where they kept their weights. Brooks spotted for both the hunters. Being a werewolf meant that Brooks would be naturally fit. One of the many perks that came with being a supernatural creature, as if strength, stamina, fast healing, and heightened senses weren't enough. Those were some of the things Avery was waiting for with his powers. His senses were already heightened, his healing was faster than most but not as fast as the wolf’s. His stamina was getting better but he wasn't sure how much better he could expect it to get. Sirens weren't necessarily predator type of creatures so strength and stamina are not as important for their survival. Still it would be nice to have them. 

After training the three of them showered and changed preparing to go out. They weren't really big on going out or partying but every once in a while they would feel the need to socialize. Brooks was the first to be done. Having short hair had perks. He had styled himself in a dark blue V-neck paired with dark wash jeans, doc martins to finish the look off. Being around Mike and Avery certainly upgraded his sense of style, before he had the whole lumber jack thing going on. He waited in the solarium for the other two to finish. Avery came downstairs first. He wore his favorite black converse and black jeans. A maroon denim button down with all but the top button done and the sleeves rolled up. He had his hair pulled back in a loose partial pony letting his natural waves do whatever they wanted. He had a cream colored cardigan in his hand. 

“Here.” He offered it to the wolf. “Thought you could pull it all together with this.” Avery was always finishing off Brooks’s looks. It was one of the many things he was thankful to have Avery around for. He was always learning from him. Sometimes he learned fashion, other times he learned martial arts. Being a wolf made him a good fighter by instinct but Avery and Mike had the ability to choreograph their fights as they went, a skill Brooks was working on having. He slipped on the cardigan it was oversized and soft. It was one of Avery’s, he could smell his shampoo on the collar. He liked wearing something that belonged to the hunter. It made him feel warm and safe as if Avery was the one wrapped around him. He sat back down playing with the sleeves of the garment. Avery had to hold a smile back looking at the wolf act as if he had never felt something so soft. He sat down on the arm of the couch and adjusted the collar to sit properly on the handsome blonde’s neck. “Give me your hand.” Avery said already reaching for it. He began rolling the sleeves up into a three-quarter length. “Three-quarter length always looks good on you.” The brunette said running his hand down Brooks’s arm. It was the most contact that the two had had in weeks without it being awkward. He took the other arm and did the same to that sleeve. Brooks left his hands sitting on Avery’s lap, he played with stitching on the siren’s jeans. Considering how hot and cold the younger male had been lately he took whatever form of affection he could. 

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few minute waiting for Mike. She always took the longest when they went out. She was the only one of the three who was technically single, she had to have presence to find a guy to flirt with all night. Going out for drinks was something relatively new to her. Her parents back in Japan were stricter than she liked. Going off the radar with Avery was the perfect way for her to claim her freedom. She walked slowly down the stairs the stilettos on her feet making shaky clicking sounds on the steps as she moved. She was good at walking in high heels, sometimes she even ran in them. Walking up and down stairs was a different story. She stole the red hooker heel style from Roz, Avery’s older sister. She loved the height that the heels gave her. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs to look herself over once more in the coat closet mirror before she met the guys in the solarium. She had on her favorite floral corset top. It was a bit tight but it made up by making her boobs look amazing. She paired the corset with a black mini skirt. She wore a transparent black blouse barely covering what was underneath it. Her hair of course was down and slightly disheveled. She was becoming a typical California girl a lot faster than she wanted to admit. 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

At the bar the group sat in a corner booth. The place was quiet but then again it was a Thursday night. The bar was not very impressive. It didn’t have to be considering how small the town of Clear Waters was. The bar was just a really big room, it had eight booths along the right side of the bar. On the left wall was a series of small tables with two chairs each. The actual bar took the entirety of the back wall which lead to the kitchen in the back. The center of the room was left open for anyone who wanted to dance. There was a spiral staircase near the back of the room leading up to play room, pool darts, and arcade games, sadly alcoholic drinks were not served upstairs, so people had to decide whether they wanted to risk scaling the stairs when drunk. The bartender told Avery that people drinking upstairs led to people falling down the stairs-so it was a good thing. Jerilyn was already there by the time the three had arrived. She had not waited for them to arrive before she ordered her drinks. They could tell she had been there a while by the way she over-enthusiastically waved them over the second they entered the door. Not that they would have missed her there was not many people in the room. Another booth near the front was filled with three couples who could not take their mouths off of each other. An elderly couple sat on the one of the stool tables opposite them. Avery figured that they were just passing by Clear Waters when he saw the woman’s fanny pack and her husband’s map. He smirked at the thought that he labeled them outsiders since he and his friends were still outsiders themselves. Stragglers stumbled around the dance floor trying their sense of rhythm. One of them reached out for Mike but she shook her head and continued to walk with the others.

“Kind of dead tonight.” Mike said sliding into the booth. Jerilyn nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah some of the people went upstairs.” Jerilyn responded. She moved over so that the others could sit with her. Avery slid in next followed closely by Brooks. 

Brooks kept close to Avery. He knew that Jerilyn had taken an interest in Avery. Avery was his, it sounded a little too wolfish and Neanderthal but he hadn’t spent all this time trying to get close to Avery for someone else to take him away. He found his fingers lightly playing with the brunette’s hair, it was soft. He wasn’t paying attention to what the two girls were speaking about. He was busy remembering the few wanton times that he and Avery spent together. They were few but he held them fondly in his mind. The euphoric rush he felt with all the libidinous chemo signals pouring out of Avery’s skin. The way the siren looked at him, his eyes filled with want. Brooks wanted that again, he wanted it permanently. Avery was the first man he had been with. The first man he had ever been attracted to. He originally thought Avery was holding back because of how petty humans could be when it came to choosing partners. Werewolves weren’t as judgmental when it came to sexuality and relationships. It wasn’t like they could be with their heightened abilities. Hearing, smelling and sensing key human emotions were all important when it came to relationship. So when one pack member was in a relationship everyone around them knew about it, most often they knew more than they wanted to. Things were just easier for everyone when every form of love was accepted. Love was love as far as werewolves were involved. And Brooks was almost sure that Avery was his love. If only he could convince him that these feeling were genuine and not a product of his powers. 

“Brooks are you coming?” Avery asked nudging his arm. The wolf hadn't realized how deep in thought he had been to not hear what the others were doing. He looked at Avery confusion across his face. “Kind of boring down here, we were going upstairs.” Mike and Jerilyn were already halfway up the spiral staircase. Avery lifted his brow at him awaiting an answer. “Unless you want to stay down here?” He heard the falter in the siren’s heart at the thought. He wasn't sure if the falter happened because Avery wanted to stay alone with him or not.

“Wherever you want to go I'll go.” The wolf replied. He meant it. He would follow Avery wherever he went. He would follow the siren directly into a volcano if it meant that he could be next to him the whole time. He doubted Avery would ever ask that of him but it's the thought that counts. 

Avery smiled at the blonde. “They have pool tables upstairs.” He motioned for Brooks to move. “You like pool don't you?” The wolf slid out of the booth and straightened out his clothes. 

He followed Avery up the stairs and into the game room. Mike and Jerilyn were already playing a game of darts. In the far pool table sat a group of people. In the center of them stood a short woman. Not as short as Mike and Jerilyn but still relatively short, 5’5”. She was fair skinned with dark brown hair. Even in the dark it was apparent how lovely her features were. She looked like a fairy princess. A fairy princess that could kick their ass. Even in her summer dress it was apparent how fit and toned her body was. She looked at the two men as they entered the room and smiled. She was with three men and another woman, all of them muscular and very fit from what the wolf could see of their tightly fitted clothing. They laughed at some joke one of the darker skinned men had said to the group. The two men found a table near the girls and watched as they played. It was not a fair game considering the training Mike had with throwing stars, her aim was impeccable, Jerilyn didn't have a prayer. The room was quiet aside from the occasional laughter from both groups. The group played a game of pool boy versus girls. Avery assumed that having Brooks on his team would be an advantage but it wasn't. The wolf had a tendency of hitting the balls too hard and send them flying off the table. The group didn't seem to mind and just laughed about it. 

“I'm gonna go downstairs and order us some food.” Avery said putting his pool stick back on its holder on the wall. “I'll be right back.” 

Down stairs things were still the same, a few more people showed up but still not enough to fill the bar. He side stepped a puddle near the bottom of the stairs that he hoped was someone drink. He made his way past a few people and leaned against the bar to read the signs on the wall. There was not many choices when it came to food, he assumed it would make it easier but it didn’t. He tried to decide between hot dogs or hamburgers. He had no recollection of ever having eaten any of this food before so he wasn’t sure which was least likely to make him sick. 

“I’d ask for the chicken sandwich.” A female voice spoke over the sounds of the drunks in the background. It didn’t sound like Mike and definitely didn’t sound like Jerilyn. It was the fairy princess. Her eyes were bright blue even in the shadows cast inside the building. 

He searched through the letters on the wall. “But there is no chicken on the menu.” The fairy princess smiled wide at him and shook her head. Her hair cascaded off of her shoulders and over her chest. 

“It’s on the table top.” She pointed to the counter in front of him. The counter was a hard see-through glass with papers underneath. People’s flyers and business cards lay trapped underneath it. Several paper menu’s lay along the edge of the counter. There was a lot more options for him to choose from on there. “Their chicken sandwich is the best in town, my coworkers and I have it all the time on our lunch.” Her voice had a slight accent, he couldn’t place it.

“Are those your coworkers upstairs?” He asked. The two leaned in closer to drown out the noise of the music blaring on the dancefloor. She nodded. “What do you do?” She opened her purse and lay a badge on the counter. “Policewoman?” Avery asked impressed. He shouldn’t have been impressed, with the body the woman had he should have known she was either a cop or firefighter. The fairy princess smiled proudly at his reaction. “That’s awesome.” He looked over the badge. 

“And what do you do?” She took her badge and put it back in her purse. She placed an elbow on the counter and lay her chin on her palm. She had pouty pink lips, the lip gloss over them made that much more distracting.

“I own a restaurant down town.” He took out his cell phone and showed her a picture of his and Mike’s restaurant. He had taken it when they replaced the old sign with the new one.

“Very nice.” She took the phone and zoomed in on the picture. “Mike and Ave’s.” She read the name on the sign. “Are you Ave or Mike?” She handed him the phone back. Her voice was soft and velvety to his ears.

“Avery.” He responded putting his phone back in his pocket. 

“Mike is your partner?” She lifted an eyebrow. She had thick eyebrows. Not bushy but nice and full. It suited her big puppy dog eyes. She moved even closer waiting for him to answer. He could sense her attraction to him. It should have made him feel good, ecstatic. But it all made him feel insecure. Like Brook’s feelings, there was no way to tell how true the fairy princess’s attraction was to him. 

“Business partner.” He said quickly. “I’m pretty sure she prefers black men more. I caught her checking out one of your coworkers upstairs.” Her shoulders seemed to relax at the mention of what his relation to Mike really was.

“What about partner partners?” She leaned in. Her dress was low cut, she was clearly trying to guide his eyes down. Not that it would have been hard with their height difference. Avery shrugged.

“Things are kind of confusing right now with the whole partner thing.” He admitted. Her face shifted into disappointment. He flawless features wrinkled together. “Yeah.” Avery laughed. “I feel the same way.”

“Well would you like things to be a bit less confusing?” She ran her hand up and down his arm. He liked the confidence the fairy princess had. If the situation had been different he would definitely make a move. There was no denying that he found her attractive.

“I’m sorry, I really shouldn’t.” He stood forgetting about the reason why he was downstairs in the first place. “But Officer….” He paused realizing he didn’t know her name. He fought the urge to stay and talk longer. She had an allure that he was sure most men could not resist.

“Harley!” She spat out quickly.

“Officer Harley.” He said taking out a card from his wallet. It was a charming name, a bit unexpected but charming. The card had the restaurant’s logo on it. He wrote his name on it and his number.

She shook her head trying to clear her mind. “Harley Wilkins.” She said laughing at herself. “Officer Harley Wilkins.” That made more sense. She was flustered and blushing. Avery smirked knowing he was having that effect on her. He found it charming when he had this type of effect on someone who could kill him with ease, which he was sure she could. Maybe it was the fact that he grew up with hunters, he liked the chance of being killed by something so close to him. Danger was apparently one of his turn-ons. He handed her the card. It was plain and simple. Off-white background and bold black lettering with the restaurant’s contact information. 

“Officer Wilkins you and you’re friends are welcome to our restaurant and try our chicken sandwich, then you can decide on which of the two places has the best one.” He left her at the bar and headed back up the stairs. “On the house for CWPD.” He said turning back for a second. She smiled looking the card over. He figured making friends with local police could only be an advantage to him and his group. 

Upstairs the other three looked completely over being at the bar. 

“Let’s go get something to eat.” He suggested. Brooks looked him over, could he smell Harley on him or something. “The food here looks like it sucks.” He turned heading back down stairs and straight out of the door. The others caught up to him once he was outside. 

“What happened downstairs?” Mike asked. “The pretty lady was watching you walk out.”

“She was kind of hitting on me,” Avery said. “But she’s a cop so I told her she could get free food at the restaurant.”

“Wouldn’t hurt to have cop friends.” Brooks smiled. He let out a little sigh of relief. It soothed him somewhat to see that Avery rather leave the bar than sit around talking to that beautiful woman. He himself found her very attractive. “Where did you guys want to go get food?” He unlocked the doors to their car. 

“Actually.” Jerilyn said watching a group of guys walking past them. She tilted her head looking at their butts. “I think I’m going to stay and see what I can get.” She pushed her boobs up and started after them. The three friends watched her walking back into the bar. They had to hand it to her 

“Let’s get pizza.” Mike said loosening the lace on her corset. “And I want a whole one just for me I’m not sharing.” She started massaging her skin, she was sure the lace up back left some imprints on her body. 

“Do you really want to overeat before we head back to Chicago?” Avery asked sitting in the front passenger seat. He was usually the one encouraging her and partaking in the same behavior. “I mean you’re going to have to wear evening gowns and stuff.” Mike sighed crossing her arms.

“Dammit you’re right.” She sulked sinking into the back seat. “I just want pizza.”

“Then let’s eat pizza.” Brooks said putting the car in drive. “You guys train all the time, how is one pizza going to ruin it?” He smiled winking at Mike through the rearview mirror.

“Okay, so pizza.” Avery said pulling out his phone. “How about movies and stuff?” Mike nodded smiling. 

“Slumber party!” She cheered.


	4. Glowing Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike and Avery arrive in Chicago to face their siblings and other hunters for the first time in months. Meanwhile Brooks stays in California trying to deal with the fact that he's alone for the first time in a long time.

Chapter 3 Glowing Eyes

Mike sat quietly across from her brother Rei playing with the piece of chicken on her plate. It had been months since she last saw him. She had not anticipated for their reunion to be awkward and tense. She and Avery had arrived in Chicago early that morning. Roz and Rei were the ones to pick them up at the airport. Their older siblings decided it would be best for them to go out to eat separately. Roz and Avery had gone to a different restaurant. 

“So,” Her brother began. He had looked forward to seeing his sister but now that she was in front of him he wasn’t sure what to say. She seemed too different. The way she looked, the way she spoke and carried herself. She used to be soft and introverted. Being on her own with Avery and that werewolf made her buoyant, overly confident. She seemed assertive and vapid compared to how he remembered her. He wasn’t fond of the blonde hair either. She used to be his little sister. Cute and calm. Now she looked like some sort of lipstick obsessed femme fatale, it wasn’t his Mike. “How is it living with a wolf?” This wasn’t really what he wanted to ask but it was something.

She shrugged. “Fine, he’s really cool.” She dabbed a napkin on her face careful not to smear her bright red lipstick. The old Mike would have laughed at the way this current one was acting. Lipstick was not important to her. “Brooks is a great handyman.” 

“Handy man huh?”

“Yeah he’s a real lumber jack type.” She responded. “Avery has even had to de-flannel him a little bit.” She smiled. “But change is good I guess.”

“Maybe.” He muttered twirling the spaghetti in his bowl. It was dry and tasteless but that wasn’t important to him at the moment. “Change isn’t always good.”

Mike looked at him narrowing her eyes. She knew her brother and how passive aggressive he could be when he was angry. His tone of voice was clearly passive aggressive. “What is that supposed to mean?” One of the perks of managing a restaurant is that she didn’t have the luxury of beating around the bush. A year ago she would have timidly asked him what was wrong, then ask him to talk to her about it. His face showed surprise at her abruptness. “Don’t play this whole passive aggressive crap, just tell me.” She sat up straight in her seat looking him directly in the eyes. 

“You’re just…different.” He stammered. “I don’t know if I like it.” He continued to play with his food. “I don’t think Mom and Dad will like it.” He added softly.

“They’ll probably like about as much as you dating a white girl.” Their parents had always wanted them to follow in their cultural footsteps. 

“Leave Roz out of this.” His fork clanged loudly against the ceramic plate. He was angry but she was right. Their parents were fine with him and Roz being together for short term fun but he knew they would not allow him to marry her.

“Having blonde hair and red lips does not mean I’m forgetting my culture.” Mike defended herself. “Being Japanese is an ethnicity not a life style.” Her brother didn’t respond. “Just because I like Americana things doesn’t mean I’m forgetting my heritage.” It wasn’t like she had never had these thoughts herself but she knew she had to change if she wanted to survive in her new life. Avery had changed, Brooks had changed, in order to blend in and move forward. She was just doing what she had to do.

“Is that what you’re going to tell them?”

“They’re just going to have to deal with it.” She leaned back in her chair taking a deep breath. 

“Is that why you left with Avery?” He asked. He remembered the moment he realized his sister had left with Avery almost a year ago. He was frantic and didn’t sleep for a week until she called him from some payphone somewhere in Oklahoma. She didn’t tell him she was leaving, he felt abandoned. 

“No.” She shook her head lightly. “I just wanted to have something new too.” She admitted. Rei wasn’t sure what she meant by that. “You and Roz were together now, Avery discovered a whole new part of himself he was going out on a journey of self-discovery.” She was starting to get emotional at the thought. “And I had nothing.” She looked at him waiting for a reply but it never came. “I mean I had just become great friends with Avery and he was leaving me to be a third wheel with you and Roslyn who were attached at the crotch half the time!” He scoffed at her remark. “My room was right next to yours Rei, I heard you.” She barked out at his reaction. All the thoughts that had plagued her from the moment Avery announced his departure were finally being spoken. She had never told Avery about this, she didn’t want him to think less of her for being so attached and needy. “So I thought maybe I’d go with Avery and see if maybe I could discover myself along the way, it’s not like I was needed here or in Japan!” The huntress hadn’t comprehended how hard it was too argue when she had to be somewhat quiet to avoid looks from those around them. “And I did find something.” She sighed. “You might not like it, but that’s just because I’m not the same quiet little follower you are used to.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Several blocks down the street Avery and Roz sat at their favorite restaurant. It was fancy and expensive but they could afford it with their parent’s money. This was where they used to go after an intense training session. Their reunion wasn’t going any better than Mike and Rei’s was going. Before Avery’s discovery of his Siren powers the two were inseparable. As far as they were concerned it was the two of them against the world, then things changed. Avery had to leave their world behind and hide in the sidelines. He couldn’t completely disappear without raising a few questions from the other hunting families. 

“Everything is ready for tomorrow.” Roz informed cutting into her steak. “We have like ten people vying for the three spots we have open.” Avery nodded listening quietly and taking a bite from one of his pieces of broccoli. “Have you guys picked out your outfits yet?” She asked. 

“Yeah.” He was quiet. He was getting a weird vibe from his sister. Not necessarily good or bad just weird. “Spent a lot of money on them too.” He added laughing. He remembered the many times the two of them spent shopping for classy clothes. It was one of the down sides of belonging to a powerful society like the Deadly Dozen and the council of hunters. Half the time the people involved where just trying to stab each other in the back. It was normal for them to try and outdo each other in the extravagance department. 

“Remember that time I tried on that black velvet gown and my knife ripped it?” She laughed. “Cost us like thousands dollars. Mom was pissed.”

“That wasn’t me.” Avery said smiling along with her. He had not recollection of what she was saying. 

She gasped lightly. “Right that was Rei that was with me.” Her laughter stopped and she thought for a second. The two sat for a second in awkward silence. 

“I like your hair.” She leaned forward looking closer at the lighter shade of brown that her brother had. “It looks good on you.”  
“Thought I’d try something new.” He ran a strand of hair through his fingers and looked down at it. She smiled back, holding back from saying she was just thankful that his change wasn’t as drastic as Mike’s.

“So…” She twirled a piece of her steak into the sauce she had chosen for flavor. “How are things with Brooks going?” She wanted to change the subject, but why did it have to be this subject?

“They’re fine.” He answered timidly. She looked at him knowing that that was a lie. “They’re confusing I guess.” He admitted. 

“Why is that?”

He took another bite of broccoli trying to delay the conversation. He may not have seen his sister in a year but she still knew him like nobody else. She just waited patiently for him to continue. “It’s just that since I found out about my…” He leaned in closer and whispered. “Siren side.” He said. “I can’t seem to distinguish between real and siren fueled affections.” He sighed. He had thought these things many times but he never spoke them out loud to anybody but Brooks. He didn’t like to bring it up too many times to the wolf because of how bad it made them both feel. “But I can’t help but give in to him every once in a while.” He thought about the nights he and the wolf spent together. It made him feel warm at first only to leave him feeling cold when he remembered how he would pull away from the wolf immediately after their moments. “I just keep leading him on and Brooks keeps coming back and I hate it.” He was speaking but not to Roz. She knew that everything he was saying he was really saying to himself, his inner monologue was escaping. Still she couldn’t help but wonder.

“Have the two of you…?” She didn’t finish her statement knowing that he would know what she meant. He looked at her in disbelief, this is what she had gotten from what he said? “You know…” She prodded. 

“I know Roz!” He kicked her under the table. “Seriously?” This was not something he wanted to talk about with her. 

“I’m just asking.” She smiled tilting her head trying to read him for an answer. Avery took a deep breath annoyed with where the conversation was heading. He nodded rolling his eyes. “How was that?” She leaned in. As weird as it was to talk about her brother about this type of stuff she was glad she finally had someone to talk to. Rei was not a very vocal person. 

“It was fine.” He responded shoving a piece of chicken into his mouth.

“That bad?” 

“No.” He grumbled at his sister. “THAT part was great.” He looked down trying not to blush at the thought of Brooks writhing beneath him. The wolf may have been quiet and stoic in public but he was a mewling mess when the two were alone. He snapped back to reality and continued his statement. “It’s just that afterwards I realize my mistake and pull myself away from him.” He furrowed his eyebrows at the memories he had of Brooks confused as to why he was so distant after they spent the night together. 

“Who does what exactly?” Roz asked taking another bite of her steak. She was clearly and annoyingly missing the point.

“Roz, are you kidding me?” 

“I’m just curious.” She said timidly. She raised her eyebrow waiting for an answer. Mike hadn’t even asked him that question, and she asked a lot of questions.

“We…” He thought for a second as to whether he wanted to answer or not. “We take turns.” He rubbed his hands over his face in embarrassment. He had always been a private person, he was pretty sure Brooks would rather keep things private too. “Why does this matter to you?”

“Were you sore after?” 

“No,” He snapped back. “Turns out sex makes my siren powers skyrocket so I heal like crazy.” He glared at her sternly. “Can we change subjects now?” He asked. “Please.” Roz nodded holding her hands up in defeat. “Thank you.” He sighed pushing his plate of half eaten chicken away. “Thinking about our situation is making me sad.” He took a sip from his drink, but he knew there wasn’t enough wine in the world to make him feel better at the moment.

“Maybe it’s for the best Ave.” Roz said shrugging. 

“How could that be for the best?” 

“Maybe things are not supposed to work out for the two of you.” She answered after a few seconds. The two siblings could feel the tension building up again. He didn’t answer her. “I’m just saying,” She pushed her food away and leaned in closer. “Maybe you’re supposed to be with one of your own, another hunter.” She touched his arm. “A human hunter.” She added after a second. 

“But I’m not a human hunter anymore, Roz.” He rebutted. Her flinching at the statement didn’t escape her brother’s sight.

“What about Mike?” She ignored what he said and continued to make her point. “Or Dad’s new research assistant Ian, he’s really cute.” 

“Mike?” Avery asked appalled. “That’s gross she’s my friend.”

“I just don’t think that you should be with a wolf.” Roz blurted out. It was the truth. Something that she had thought all along. Her words took her brother by surprise.

“Well you didn’t seem so opposed to it a year ago when he saved our asses from wendigoes.” He barked back at her. They were hunting wendigoes when Avery had met Brooks. They were in over their heads until the wolf showed up and helped them take on the nest of the monsters. It was also the same time when he found out about his being a siren. 

“That was because I thought he would be staying in Colorado and you here in Chicago, not that you two would be playing house in California.” Roz’s tone of voice was dripping with antipathy for his choices. She raised her hand to get the waitress’s attention. “But now, I don’t know.” She didn’t look him in the eye. Avery didn’t need eye contact to know that she didn’t want a confrontation about this, not here. The waitress, a petite dark skinned girl came over smiling. Roz handed the waitress her credit card. “Let’s go we have to pick up Mike and Roz on our way back to the pent house, big day tomorrow.” She finally looked at him smiling. Avery didn’t return the smile. He was still in shock of what his sister was saying. Clearly he wasn’t the only one that had changed. The two stood and began to gather their things. 

 

The two siblings walked in down town Chicago in silence. Well, as much silence as the windy city would allow them to have. The sound of Roz’s high heels clicked as they moved towards the parking garage. Avery felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. It was Mike telling him that she and Rei were heading to the parking garage as well. He began to type out a response to let her know that he and his sister were doing the same. A wall of red came crashing into his shoulder. The hit caused him to drop his phone and it skidded down the street. His heart dropped at the sight of the phone moving face down on the cement. Roz began to chase after it. 

“I’m so sorry.” He heard the red wall say to him. He felt hands on his arms checking to see if he’s okay.

“It’s okay.” Avery responded looking back at the man. “I was texting so I wasn’t looking.” The man was wearing a red hoodie and looking down at the ground. The hooded man took off walking again before Avery had a chance to make sure he was alright. The young hunter knew that their crash was not a big one but he knew never to underestimate how easily the human body could be hurt. 

“Here.” Roz came up behind her brother to hand him his phone. “The case has a few scratches but that’s about it.” Avery looked if over before putting it back in his pocket. He watched the hooded man move through the crowd and farther away from them. “He dropped his necklace.” Roz said kneeling slowly to avoid revealing too much under her skirt. She held the platinum looking piece up to get a better look. Nothing too fancy but still nice. It was a circle with two crescent moons in the middle facing away from each other.

“I’ll go find him and give it back to him.” He took the necklace and tucked it into his pocket. “Go get the car and pick me up.” He started to follow in the man’s direction. Usually his sister would go along with him but her shoes and tight skirt were not meant for running. The man had not gone too far from where the two of them had run into each other. It was easy for Avery to spot him. His red hood was a strong anomaly compared to the many shades of black and grey people in the streets of Chicago wore from day to day. “Sir!” He called out. Several people turned to look at him but not the one he was trying to catch. He swerved around two elderly women walking side by side. There was nothing more annoying that people taking up the entire side walk. “Sir!” The man was at the edge of a bridge. He could hear the train coming up behind him. Any second and it would be passing over the top of the bridge. The red hooded man stopped at the edge of the bridge when he noticed it started shaking from the ruckus of the metro. Avery smiled. Roz would never cross that bridge when the train passed over it. She would always make him stop with her until it passed so they could walk again. “Sir.” He tapped the man’s shoulder. “You dropped your necklace when we bumped.” The man turned to face him. 

“Thank you.” The man reached out for his necklace. A gust of wind blew by. Avery could already tell he was going to detangle his hair when he got home. One of the few things he didn’t miss about Chicago was the wind. The wind knocked the man’s hood off. The man was looking directly at Avery. It took Avery by surprise. Silver eyes. The only other person to have silver eyes that Avery knew of was himself whenever is siren took over him. 

“You’re…” Avery stammered. The man took a step back distancing himself from Avery. Avery had not met another siren, he had so many questions. “Siren.” He said softly. A loud honk from a few blocks away pulled his eyes away from the other siren. He knew it was his sister. He needed to let this siren they were the same, he needed to learn so much. There was only so many things he could learn from trial and error before he died. “I’m one…” The man was gone. There was no red hoodie to be seen anywhere. He searched the street but nothing. 

“Avery did you find him?” Roz called from her SUV. Rei sat in the passenger seat with Mike in the back.

“Yeah.” He said jogging towards the edge of the street so she could pull up. “Yeah. He left.” 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Brooks was getting anxious sitting alone at home. Since they had moved to Clear Waters he had not spend more than a few hour separated from either Avery or Mike. He missed them. He didn’t like to think that he was becoming codependent on the two hunters but it was his wolf who was. Werewolves, like real wolves, tended to live in close knit groups. It was part of the reason why he was constantly touching and standing next to the two hunters, they were his pack. A werewolf, human hunter, and a Siren was the weirdest pack he had ever heard of but still it was his pack and he liked it. He constantly resisted the urge to call them even though he knew hearing from them would calm his nerves. But since the two of them were in Chicago surrounded by other elite hunters he was leaving it to them to get a hold of him first. Only they would know when it was safe to message him. Waiting for the call or text was boring him out of his mind. He was not the type to sit at home and watch television. It had only been one day but he had already finished the flooring and cleaned the house. He sat outside on the porch stretching and limbering up. He decided to go for a run. One of the reasons Avery had decided on Clear Waters was the large wooded area behind the town. It was the perfect place for a werewolf to let their feral side play. It didn’t take long for him to get into the part of the woods without running trails. He preferred the uncharted woods. It let him run on pure instinct, he would get bored whenever he ran trails with Avery and Mike. The only entertainment he got was when Avery ran in front of him and he got to stare at the hunter run. He smiled to himself thinking about the younger man. He took one of Avery’s sweat bands and stretched it over his head, he made sure to tuck in his hair into it. He had started growing it. It was only about four inches so far but it was enough to annoy him when he ran. Now he understood why Avery and Mike loved putting their hair in a bun whenever they did anything physical. 

The wolf jumped over fallen branches and uplifted roots. If he had been human this type of thing would have made him slow down or even stumble to the ground. But his wolf reflexes allowed him to maneuver around obstacles without a falter in his step. He wasn't sure how far he had run but it didn't matter. This was the farthest he had been from the old plantation home he and the other two lived in. It was odd that these things rushing by him, the ranches scratching at him, the dirt trying to break his balance, they all made him feel at ease. It had been a while since he had been so close to nature. It had been over a year since he and his cousin Coral had ran together in Colorado.

Coral. He hadn't thought about her. With all the moving around and constant changes in his and the hunter’s lives it had been hard to just stop and grieve. He couldn't help but wonder how different his life would be at that moment if his cousin was still alive. She had been the only person he had in Colorado. It was her death that led him to pursue a life with Avery. He had nobody else. Still he sometimes wished that he had another werewolf to share activities like this one with. That was the one thing Avery couldn't really give him. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He smiled knowing it was one of the hunters. 

Hey, just checking up on you, we are fine here :)-Avery 

I'm fine just bored, went for a run.-Brooks

Sounds fun! Bet you're happy running deep into the unmarked woods.-Avery 

Yeah I couldn't resist.-Brooks

I'm about to have dinner with my parent, good night. Be good.-Avery

I'll try not to drag my ass across the carpet, I guess. :)-Brooks 

He chuckled putting the phone back in his running shorts. It was starting to get dark out. He checked his watch it was 7:30p.m. He had been running for about forty five minutes, he decided to head back. He turned back jogging slowly trying to actually enjoy what the forest in Southern California had to offer. He jogged in silence for fifteen minutes only to be interrupted by snapping twigs. He stopped to look behind him. Being a werewolf there was not much that he was scared of but still nobody could ever be too careful. He didn't see or hear anything. He was upwind from whatever made the noise so his sense of smell was not going to help him with this. He shrugged it off and continued to jog back home. He heard another twig snap. There was nothing behind him, nothing he could see. He scanned the area and came up empty. He saw a dark figure move out of the corner of his eye. It was in the trees, whatever was following him was in the trees. It was getting darker and harder for him to distinguish shapes. He followed it by the sounds of its limbs breaking the bark of the trees as it moved. He let his claws extend without making a move, if this thing jumped he was going to be ready. It eyes were red, and angry red, the kind you'd see in fresh blood. He had not met a supernatural creature with eyes in that hateful red. He wasn't sure if he wanted to take this thing on, he didn't know what it was. He saw another pair or red eyes appear on the tree a few yards behind the first. He definitely didn't want to take one two. He took a small step back careful not to make sudden movements. The first figure started making clicking sounds. The second responded. They were communicating. Brooks took a second step away from the two. Both figures stopped clicking and looked directly at him their eyes narrowing at him. One of them moved forward. The wolf turned on his heels and took off running dodging whatever obstacle came his way. He could hear the two creatures clicking at they moved from tree to tree to chase after him. Those things were fast. They weren’t far behind him. Wolves could outrun most things, at least Brooks had outrun everything he ever encountered. He kept running forward keeping his hearing focused on the two creatures behind him. He could hear every puncture their claws left on the trees as they moved. He was breathing hard. He had to push himself to stay ahead of them. He was thankful wolves had such amazing stamina, no human would have managed to maintain running at high speed for this long. He knew he was close to the walking trails that everyone used. He could smell the bug spray in the air. So many people used it that the trails had a feint scent of it permanently. Once he reached the walking trails he knew he could run much faster. He could smell the gravel about two hundred yards away from him. He was so close. Once he hit the gravel he knew it would only be a few minutes before he’d be home. 

“Then what?” He thought to himself. He didn’t know what these things were so he didn’t know how to kill them or fight them off. He couldn’t go home, he’d lead them there where they could attack a pair of unsuspecting hunters. He knew that there was no way Mike or Avery could outrun these things. Or worse they might try to fight these things without proper weapons and die. He had to head the other way towards town, maybe he could lose them there. He could use the strong smells and sounds of down town to outsmart these things and head back home safely. He reached the gravel taking a right immediately. It he followed this path and turned right at the end it would lead him directly downtown near their restaurant. The creatures didn’t follow him to the gravel path. He could hear them off to his side running with him, but why? They must know something that the wolf didn’t. Perhaps they just didn’t want to leave the safety of the trees. His hair bounced frantically with every step he took. He had lost Avery’s headband. He stopped running looking behind him. The red-eyed things stopped too. Their eyes narrowed menacingly at him. Neither of them had registered that he left the small article behind. The wolf took off again towards town. If those things found the headband they could use it to find the house, or Avery. It seemed that the things had not registered the headband’s existence. He had to lead them away from it and he would have to round back to get it in the morning when things were safer. Just another minute and he would reach the end of the trail. The sound of the creatures’ claws abruptly stopped. Brooks slowed to jog looking behind him. The sudden silence was not a good sign. Either they had figured out about the headband, or something worse was in the woods with them. He decided not to wait around to find out.

The wolf spun rapidly taking off as swiftly as he could. He was stopped by a wall of muscle covered in rough leather. Brooks bounced back falling on his ass. He felt several pieces of gravel dig into his buttocks. Ignoring the pain he looked up to see the wall was a very tall very dark skinned man. His hair was all over the place in long blondish dreadlocks, he had some of them pulled back into a ponytail. His eyes were stoic and dark. His chin was strong and angled. Most importantly he was tall, really tall. Brook’s himself was tall but this man made him feel like he wasn’t. It was not the same feeling he got when standing next to Avery. Avery was a couple of inches taller than him. This man had to be taller than that, 6’5” the wolf guessed. The man watched emotionlessly as Brooks picked himself up. There was something about him that set Brook’s alertness off. He wasn’t human, but he didn’t know what. 

“What is it Robin?” A woman asked coming up behind the dark skinned man. She ran her hand over the leather covering his bulky arm. It wasn’t a sensual touch more like the touch a mother figure would give her child when speaking to them. Robin didn’t answer, he kept his eyes set on Brooks. Brooks could tell that the woman wasn’t human either. The woman was beautiful. She came up from behind the giant and looked at Brooks. She took a few steps toward Brooks. The wolf found it odd how comfortable the woman seemed. She was strong, he could sense it. Her power emanated from her like an invisible wall of energy surrounding her body. 

“You’re a wolf.” She said to him. There was no surprise or sense of accusation in her statement. She was just stating facts. Brooks didn’t answer her, he wasn’t sure which answer would be worse. “Show me your eyes.” She said. Brooks still didn’t respond. “Robin, show him please.” She turned to the tall man. He blinked once, a dull golden light flooded into his eyes. They seemed brighter with his black skin. He was a wolf too. The woman turned to Brooks smiling, she had a great smile. “See? We’re all friends here.” She showed him her eyes too. They were a vibrant gold. She was the alpha, they were a pack. “I’m Ivy.” She held her hand out to him. Brooks studied her face. She was pale skinned with a rounded face. Her cheeks held a charming rose tint to them. Voluminous strands of natural curls fell past her shoulders. He could see the lively green shade of her eyes even in the dark. 

“Brooks.” He answered taking her hand. He let his feral side torrent into his eyes to reveal his alpha gold to her. He had technically been the Alpha of a two wolf pack until his cousin Coral had died.

“An alpha?” She was impressed. “Where is your pack?” 

“Or are you the wolf who’s living with the siren?” Another woman came up jogging from behind the giant man. She looked very similar to Ivy. A little taller 5’8” maybe. Where Ivy had endless curls, this second woman had short straight hair. It was cut into an asymmetrical bob that framed her square-ish jaw perfectly. He face was less rounded that Ivy’s but Brooks knew that they were related, they had the same jade colored eyes.

“Siren?” Ivy asked again impressed. “I wasn’t aware that we had a new wolf AND a siren living here now.” She stressed the word and. Wolves were not necessarily territorial but they always kept an eye on who was coming into their homes. This pack had chosen this town as their home. They would naturally see Avery and Brooks as intruders.

“He’s in Chicago right now, family business.” He looked at the younger woman. 

“Wren, this is Brooks.” Ivy said nodding towards Brooks. “Brooks, this is my little sister and beta Wren.” Wren nodded and waved at him from her spot next to Robin. “We want to meet this siren.” Ivy said turning back to Brooks.

“Avery.” Brooks interrupted her. “His name is Avery.”

Ivy nodded apologetically. “If we expect to live in the same town in harmony we need to know each other.” She smiled again. “Who knows we might even profit from a friendship with each other.” Brooks nodded in agreement. She was smart, she had to be she was the alpha.

“I’ve seen you in that new restaurant downtown.” Robin said, his voice was deep and rumbly. Exactly what Brooks had expected from the large wolf. 

“Avery and his friend own it.” He said.

“Then we will set up a time to meet with him and you as soon as he returns.” Ivy said. The way she spoke and carried herself reminded Brooks of Avery’s older sister Roz. Friendly and caring but strong and definitely a born leader. She was the kind to demand something from people with a soft and stern voice, and would always get it. Her soft demeanor however did not deviate from her deadly side.

“Are you heading into town?” Wren asked. She seemed like the more docile of the two. Friendlier and laid back. She spoke in a friendlier tone than her sister.

“Yes.” Brooks answered. “I was going to run through downtown before heading home.” It was technically the truth. 

“We were heading there ourselves.” Ivy said motioning for Brooks to follow them. He looked behind him as where the creature had been. As far as he knew they still were, they could have been watching them the whole time. “Tell me about yourself Brooks.”


	5. Braided Crowns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Royals hunting society gathers from all around the world to induct three new young hunters into the the ranks of the Deadly Dozen.

Chapter 4 Braided Crowns

Avery looked himself over in the mirror one last time before stepping out to head towards the viewing room. He had to make sure he looked perfect. He was one of the top five ranked meaning he was basically a judge for the event. But it being a Royal hunting event it meant that he would be judged himself. Being top five meant he and the other four would be secluded into the viewing room above the training arena to oversee everything. Ten hopeful hunters were going to be competing for the three vacant spots in the coveted group of elite young hunters. It was going to be up to the top five to decide who would be the three to join. As usual fashion and expensive things were a must for hunter gathering. Neither he nor Mike spared expenses. He had chosen a floral printed suit. It was a muted floral print, the kind one would see on couches, with a dark charcoal background. The light colors of the flowers suited his dark olive skin. He paired the suit with a pastel pink button down and a charcoal tie. He let his hair free-per Roz’s demand-it fell back in its natural wave. He was ready. The walk to the viewing room was short and quick. He made sure to move quickly, he had no intention of making small talk with anyone else. He just wanted to get through the next couple of days without any real trouble. The other four judges were already there making small talk. This was the first time that any of them had initiated another Hunter into the group. Most of them had been initiated around the same time, give or take a year. Usually a Hunter was considered part of the deadly dozen until their 30th birthday. Then they would choose their own replacement. However when a Hunter was lost in battle it was up to the top five to do the choosing. This was the first time since Avery had joined the elite group five years prior, that they had lost a hunter, well three hunters. He stood at the door watching the other four speaking in pairs. Mike was the first to acknowledge him with a smile.

“Looking good.” She said looking closely at the floral print. She wore a navy blue gown. The fabric was a sheer chiffon with a nude lining underneath giving the allusion of a whimsical dress. It had bead work on it resembling the painting Starry Night by Van Gogh. 

“Not looking too bad yourself.” He took her hand and she twirled in an graceful spin. The skirt of the gown flowed elegantly through the air as she moved. The fabric draped itself back unto her body when she stopped. The silhouette and cut of the fabric hugged her figure to enhance her toned shape.

“Avery,” It was Beatriz Cruz. “Nice to see you again.” Her slight accent was charming. It was very feint from all the school years she spent in New York with the other hunters. He turned to look at her. 

“Bea.” He smiled at her. “How are you?” He reached for her hand. Beatriz and her two younger twin sisters were all part of the Deadly Dozen, her family resided in Mexico City, Mexico.

“Not too bad, kind of feeling overwhelmed with this whole thing.” She spun her hand around motioning to the room. At least he wasn’t the only one worried about being in charge of choosing the three new initiates.

“I know, it’s a lot of responsibility.” He admitted. “But the five of us together will get it right.” He wasn’t sure if he believed his words himself. 

“I hope so.” She nodded. He had always like Bea, she may have been a bit quiet but she was genuine. And he knew she was good in combat. She was a pretty girl. She had the makings of a girl next door type. Sweet faced with big brown doe eyes. Avery felt bad that someone as innocent looking as her had to deal with the horrid truth of the hunting world. Her beauty was a solid contrast to Roz’s warrior princess looks, and Mike’s new femme fatale get up. Her dress alone showed how different she was from the other two. She wore a ball gown with a modest neckline. The gown started plain black at the top and beading in a floral pattern that concentrated at it got closer to the full skirt. He couldn’t wait to see her try to sit in it. He remembered that she had worn a similar type of gown when their school had thrown them a formal dance to resemble a regular school’s prom. The dance itself was a bust since not one of the hunter had any interest in socializing with each other. He and Roz spent the entire night watching the girls in the giant ball gown struggle to sit down. Bea did not disappoint that evening. 

Avery looked to see his sister talking quietly with Rei by the wall of windows across the room. They were the top two ranked. Rei wore a plain black suit with red detailing, Avery was a bit disappointed with it. He had hoped his sister would have forced him to wear something a bit better. They were the best of the best, they had to make sure that the others knew it just by looking at them. Roz however did not disappoint. She wore a fully sequined dress fitted close to her figure. At the edges of her sweet heart neckline were straps that held on to a sheer cape that trailed about four feet behind her. She was owning the fact that she was number one. As far as she was concerned she was the queen and the other four were her court. She had her hair braided into a crown with small strands of beads matching her dress intertwined. All three of the girls had the same hair style. Roz demanded that they did. This was the first time ever that the top five had three girls, even if Bea was just there by default-it should have been Max Battaligna. Usually the men outnumbered the girls. Roz had been the only girl for about three years running. The braided crowns represented the beauty and power that women brought to the hunting world. Roz wanted to make sure that other hunters who might join the ranks of the Deadly Dozen were aware of that. The braid crowns united the three women. Avery watched as his sister wrapped her arms around herself. He couldn’t hear what she was saying but from her body language he could see that she was nervous. She always acted tough and in control but she was still human. Rei ran his hands up and down her sides in a comforting slash seductive motion. Avery looked past the semi-inappropriate caress and moved towards his seat.

The lights in the room flickered twice signaling for the attendants to take their seats. Roz took her seat in the center of the room. There was five seats in a row. All draped with red velvet fabric. Avery took the seat to her left and Rei the one to her right. Mike sat next to Avery. Bea took the remaining seat next to Rei. The curtain behind the wall of glass they sat in front of began to slowly part to reveal them to the other attending hunters. The arena in front of them was large. There was seats on both sides of it filled with hunters from all around the world. Avery spotted his parents in the front row of the American section of seats. Each attending country had their flag posted in front of their section. This year there was about thirty of them present. He spotted the Battaligna family sitting directly behind them. Florence Battaligna was sitting next to her mother as beautiful as Avery remembered her from a year before. He wanted to speak to her but he knew she would just blow him off. The Battaligna’s along with a few others in the arena believed that Avery was responsible for the deaths of Kit and Max Battaligna. They along with Anna Felkent, a hunter from Canada had gone rouge on one of Avery and Roz’s hunts. They were ill prepared and died at the hands of wedigoes and Coral-Brooks’s cousin. Despite evidence and multiple statements from the other hunters, Avery was still their number one suspect. After that Flo stopped talking to Avery, they kind of had a thing before all of that mess happened. He didn’t want her back, he just wanted her to know the truth. The only side she had heard was her parents’. 

The curtains were completely open when Roz stood. She was the top ranked of the group. She smiled and waved to the crowd beneath them. There was a small teleprompter in front of her that could only be seen by the five hunters in the viewing room. As number one it was up to Roz welcome everyone and give a speech about what it meant to be in the Deadly Dozen and why it was a big deal just to be considered for it. Avery didn’t really pay attention to the whole thing. A lot of it he had heard before, honor, power, pride, and protecting those unaware of the truth. His father had given many similar speeches throughout the years. Royal hunting families found almost any excuse to through gatherings and try to outshine each other. The Bishops family had a personalized speech writer to make sure that they had the best words of all. Her speech ended with a welcome to the considered hunters. Bea was the next to stand. Roz sat back in her seat and Bea took her place in front of the TelePrompTer. She began announcing names that the others had never heard of. One by one the new hunters made their way to the center of the arena. Over the past few month hunter from all around the world had competed to be ranked. 

“Mosi Yego, Kenya.” A dark skinned hunter entered the farthest end of the arena. He was tall and muscular, even from far above the hunters could see how fit the dark-skinned man was. “Issa Segie, Kenya.” A young woman followed behind him. Both of their skin tones were dark and smooth. She had her hair cut close to her head. She was a regal looking girl, elegant features, strong bone structure. Avery could imagine her ruling a country in elaborate clothing and jewelry. Bea continued reading. “Dianna Schpak, Russia.” A tall blonde model looking girl came out third. Her hair was long and swayed elegantly behind her. She wore the same outfit as the other two a grey cotton t-shirt and black shorts. She wasn’t as toned as the other two but muscle was not necessarily needed in hunting. “Fabio Shakir, Egypt.” Bea continued announcing. On olive skinned guy walked out. Even from above in the viewing room it was apparent how handsome Fabio was. He was the only one of the group to smile at the crowd. He had a wide and bright smile. The section of the audience labeled “Egypt” began cheering. Roz smiled to herself, she didn’t blame them for the excitement. “Sabriyah Halabi, Palestine.” A short girl followed behind the handsome Egyptian. She wore a bright hijab over her hair. Avery smiled when he looked at her. He knew she must have chosen a bright color to stand out from the other, and she did. 

“Bright pink.” Mike whispered to him. He nodded in response his eyes kept on the contestants on the arena floor. 

“Harold Worthington, England.” Bea continued. Roz rolled her eyes at how unbelievably British the name sounded. She remembered Harold from when they were in school. He had been considered to join the Deadly Dozen the same year she had, then again two years later when Avery was. He was nearing twenty six years old, if he didn’t join the ranks now, he might not make it at all. Harold stood with his arms crossed. “Jaime Sander, United States.” A tall lanky red head walked out, he was almost as pale as the white walls of the arena. “Chloe Redford.” A dark skinned girl with dreads pulled into a ponytail walked out. Avery remembered Chloe from when they were in school. She was friendly and a good team player, her solo skills were not as strong. Eight down two to go. “Hari Patil, India.” Roz turned to look at Rei in confusion. Hari Patil and Rei had been in a long time rivalry. Much like the Bishops had always disliked the Battalignas. The Patils and Makis were rivals in general. Rei breathed deeply through his nose. Just seeing Hari pissed him off. 

“Oh god no.” Mike gritted through her teeth knowing who was going to be the last name on the list. The hunter’s council loved nepotism. Their entire society was built on families after all. It was one of the reasons why so many of the Deadly Dozen members were siblings.

“Maja Patil, India.” Bea read unaware of the other four hunter’s reaction to the last two names. Mike had told Avery how the Maki’s had been the top ranked in Asia with the Patil’s always in a close second. Hari and Maja walked out together as siblings usually did. Hari was tall, muscular, and statuesque, a contrast to his sister who was more pixie-ish in nature. Her hair was long and dark, it shined beautifully in the lights. Mike and Rei locked eyes with each other, their life long enemies had arrived. 

“Don’t let this rivalry affect your decisions.” Roz said her eyes still looking ahead. Being in the top five gave them a lot of responsibility, they couldn’t abuse their power.

“Congratulations.” Bea read from the teleprompter. “You ten are in the running for one of three spots in the Deadly Dozen.” The crowd beneath the viewing room began to clap and cheer at the group of young hunters in the arena. The fact that they were standing there meant that they had already proven to be better than the majority of hunters across the world. Joining the elite group could be the start of a legacy for some of their families, and continuation for others. Bea moved back to her seat and stood in front of it. She waited while the other four hunters stood with her and they all joined the crowd in applauding the contestants.

After a minute of cheering Rei moved to the teleprompter. He gave a speech honoring the loss of Max, Kit, and Anna. Avery could feel multiple sets of eyes staring daggers at him, he was after all public enemy number one to some of these people. He took deep breaths throughout Rei’s speech and kept his composure together. The speech was originally written for Avery to read but considering the circumstances he decided to pass it off to Rei. He only had to deal with this for two days then he and Mike could head back home. He had grown accustomed to not being a part of the hunting world. He knew Mike had too. As much powers as being in this society gave them it also suppressed them as individuals. Avery knew that if he had stayed inside of this society he would have never been able to even think about being with Brooks. It wasn’t until her left the hunting world that Avery realized just how sheltered his life had been-supernatural monsters aside.

After a moment of silence for the lost hunters Rei moved back to his seat. Roz stood again and approached the teleprompter. 

“It’s time to begin the competition.” She said looking over the ten hunters on the arena floor. “Good luck to all of you, and keep in mind what a big responsibility this is.” She turned back to her seat. The door beneath the viewing room opened, four people stood on the other side. They all wore matching navy blue clothing. All four of them were the remaining members of the Deadly Dozen, ranking six through nine. Two identical girls stepped out first. Cassandra and Amalia Cruz, Beatriz’s younger sisters. The two girls smiled and made their way to the where the contestants stood. The twins were just as innocent looking as Bea if not more. They were much leaner and toned in nature where Bea was curved and womanly. They both had their hair in a long braid, just because they weren’t top five didn’t mean that Roz didn’t consider them strong women. A few steps behind the Cruz’s came a pair of brothers from Brazil. Stefan and Ruben Santiago, the two of them seemed much bulkier than Mike and Avery remembered them. The last time they saw them a year before the Santiago’s were no threat to their social ranking, perhaps things had changed. The pair of siblings stood shoulder to shoulder facing the contestants. Several large boxes covered in black fabric were pushed unto the arena floor behind them. Lastly a large bowl filled with bits of paper was set on a table. The pair of siblings moved back to stand behind the table. The fabric in front of the boxes was removed to reveal several staves and wooden weapons. The twins motioned for the contestants to step forward one by one and choose the weapon of their choice. The Santiagos paired the contestants with each other and told them where to stand. For their first test the contestants would go one on one with each other using the wooden weapons to defend themselves. They would have one minute to fight as Roz and the others in the viewing room would watch them and score them accordingly. Each person in the viewing room was assigned one pair to watch. The large mat covering the arena floor had five large circles indicating where the hunters would be facing each other in combat. It looked like a high school wrestling competition was about to happen.

Avery watched over the Egyptian and the British hunters. Aside from Maja and Chloe he didn’t really know any of their names, up until now he had no reason to. The British hunter was strong and aggressive but the Egyptian dodged most of his attacks with fancy foot work and a smile plastered on his face. The Egyptian was cocky about his skills, cocky was not a bad trait in Avery’s eyes as long as he had the skills to back it up. Even from the viewing room Avery could see the tension building in the British hunter’s body. He was beginning to get agitated from the Egyptian’s foot games. Although Avery was entertained by it at first he decided the Egyptians jovial nature during an event like this was inappropriate and gave the win to the British hunter with a higher score. He wasn’t given a chance to see how the others hunters had scored. Immediately after the first minute was done the door beneath the viewing room opened and ten people walked out in matching navy blue outfits like the Cruz and Santiago siblings. Avery recognized most of them as Deadly Dozen Alumni, he spotted Eric Mendler, the hunter who had chosen him as his replacement five years prior. Eric had taken a lot of flack from some of the hunters for inducting a non-royal into the deadly dozen. Cassandra and Amalia stood by the bowl filled with paper and drew one paper each. Amalia pulled a pink paper and read the name out-loud.

“Priyanah.” The young Palestinian girl stepped forward. Cassandra drew a yellow paper from the bowl and read the name facing the Alumni.

“Cassidy.” A tall brunette with a pixie cut stepped forward. Ruben Santiago handed her a wooden staff. Each contestant would be matched with an alumni to go one on one with as Roz and the others judged their skills. Once paired with an alumni the contestants were divided into two groups so that the judges could give them their full attention. Mike watched over Maja as she fought with a man about twice her size. She was impressed at how Maja used her size to her advantage. She dived between the man’s long legs several times and even brought him to his knees by the end of the fight. Mike hated to give her a high score but she had to admit to herself that Maja was good at what she did-even if she was a bitch. After a few minutes the second half of the contestants prepared to fight. Roz watched over Chloe as she took on Eric-the man that Avery replaced. Chloe was fast but not very strong. She showed promise in Roz’s opinion but she wasn’t entirely sure that she was ready to be in the Deadly Dozen. Chloe was the one who ended up on the ground by the end of the fight. She had managed to avoid most of Eric’s attacks but didn’t deal much damage to him. In a real hunt she would already be dead. Roz felt bad for giving her a low score, she really did like her. The contestants were sent to the locker room to freshen up and change into formal clothing for the second part of the event. Meanwhile the top five ranked debated amongst themselves about which three contestants would be eliminated when they returned. It was an easy deliberation for the five hunters. For the most part they all trusted each other’s judgement. Bea, knowing the history the other four hunters had together went along with their decision not wanting to stir things up being the technical outsider. She wanted them to like her, she knew that building alliances in the Deadly Dozen was a good thing. At the moment the Bishops and the Makis were the biggest two contenders bringing Japan and the Eastern and Midwest of the U.S. together, if she got on their good side them Mexico could be added to the mix. She and her family were the main representers for Mexico when it came to hunting affairs across the globe. An alliance like this would be deadly and boost her family name, not that they were anything to scoff at as they stood. 

Avery was the one to deliver the news of which seven contestants would move forward. He wasn’t very happy about it considering how many people in the arena already disliked him. Naturally he was the one chosen to deliver the bad news. He stood at the teleprompter looking down at the ten hunters on the arena floor, they had all changed into ball gowns and suits to match himself and the other attendants. He held a piece of paper in his hand with Mike’s handwriting, she had been chosen as the scribe for the group. 

“When I call your name please step forward.” His voice resonated louder than when the others had spoken. He ignored it and continued speaking. “Mosi Yego.” The dark skinned Kenyan stepped forward to where the Cruz twins pointed. The Cruz and Santiago siblings had also changed into formal attire. “Issa Segie.” The Kenyan beauty smiled brightly as she moved forward next to the other hunter. She wore a bright red gown that looked amazing with her dark complexion. “Dianna Schpak.” The Russian hunter moved forward as quickly as she could with how form fitting her gown was on her frame. There was a palpable tension in the room, the three separated hunters were not sure if they were being eliminated of moving forward. All they knew was that three of the ten were no longer being considered for the spots in the group. “Sabriyah Halabi.” Avery announced. The Russian and the Kenyans let out a sigh of relief realizing they were still in consideration. The Palestinian hunter moved forward elegantly in a simple black gown with a train that trailed several feet behind her. She had replaced her pink hijab with a beautiful golden sequin one that stood out perfectly against the simplicity of her dress. She smiled as she took her place next to Dianna. The Russian hunter smiled and took Sabriyah’s hand in celebration. Avery smiled and continued reading the list. “Maja Patil.” He read. The Indian hunter looked to her brother as if shocked that she had been called before him, he shared his confusion. The room stood in silence waiting for her to step forward, she regained her composure quickly and did. Her brother smiled smugly to himself, it was rare that siblings not make the Deadly Dozen since the council liked having hunters that worked together. “Harold Worthington.” The British hunter moved forward without emotion on his face, he had been there before, he knew he could still lose. The room began to whisper, they had all expected that Hari would be called next. Avery kept reading as if the room was not gossiping beneath him. There was one name left on the list and everyone wanted to know if Hari had made it or not. This would be the first time in a long time that two siblings were not initiated together. Traditions were important to the hunting world. “Jamie Sanders.” Avery spoke into the microphone. The room fell silent as the tall red headed American moved forward. Even through the glass Avery’s siren picked up on the confusion of the crowd and the disappointment of the three eliminated hunters. Despite literally feeling their pain Avery continued delivering the speech he had been given. “Congratulation to the seven of you whose name I called.” He could feel his heart beat speed up. “You should be proud of yourselves not many have made it this far.” He saw Maja looking back at her brother almost in fear. Clearly he had anticipated to be the one called and not her. “To you whose name I did not call,” There was a pause in the crowd, they looked at Avery awaiting his statement. “We thank you for everything you have done to get to this point, do not lose hope.” That was everything that the teleprompter told him. He looked back to his sister, how could that be the finishing statement? He had to finish with something else. “Just because you are not in the Deadly Dozen does not mean you are not one of the elite.” He adlibbed. The eliminated contestants looked up at him. “Every active hunter makes a difference in the world, every hunter saves lives while sacrificing their own. You are all modern day warriors.” Roz smiled to herself, it was just like Avery to try and make people feel good about themselves. “Don’t let anyone in this world let you believe any different.” He didn’t wait for a reaction and sat back in his seat. The five hunters in the viewing room waited as the curtains closed in front of them. The first part of the competition was over. The second they were obscured from the crowd they all let out a sigh of relief. They all knew that they were going to be expected to explain why Hari didn’t make the cut. 

“We have about twenty minutes before we start interviewing the remaining contestants.” Roz said looking at her phone and heading out the door with Rei close behind her making sure he didn’t step on her train. Mike handed Avery his phone, she had kept it in her clutch away from them to lessen the urge to use them.

Need to talk to you, ran into a pack of werewolves.-Brooks. 

He showed the phone to Mike. Bea was still in the room so they couldn’t call Brooks from the viewing room. She was busy on her phone not paying attention but he didn’t want to risk it. Mike took his hand and led him out of the door and into the closest restroom. It was a family restroom with one toilet and a door lock so nobody else could walk in. Avery pressed the speed dial and waited for Brooks to answer. The wolf picked up on the second ring.

“Hello?” Brooks’s voice sounded much deeper over the phone. Avery could hear chattering and plates clanking in the background. He figured that Brooks was at the restaurant checking up on things. 

“Hey, I just saw your text,” Avery whispered. Mike stood at the door to make sure nobody was standing on the other side. “What happened are you okay?”

“Yeah everything is fine,” The wolf answered. Avery heard a door close followed by silence, he must have walked into the office. “They want to meet you though.” 

“Why me?” Avery asked.

“They heard about you and what you are.”

“How?”

“I don’t know, they don’t seem hostile.” Brooks said as if that would help make things seem less intense for the siren. “I think their Alpha, Ivy, just wants to make sure you’re not threat to the pack or the town.”

“That makes sense I guess.” Avery admitted. He leaned against the sink. If he was a territorial werewolf then he would want to do the same thing. “I won’t be there until Monday morning at the earliest, Monday evening most likely.” He knew his parents were going to want him and Mike to stay and catch up. “Do they want me there right now?”

“They didn’t really give me a timeframe.” 

“Ok well just be careful around them until we know what they want.” Avery warned. “I don’t want you getting hurt.” A knock on the door scared both him and Mike. 

“It’s Flo.” Mike whispered. Avery didn’t respond, not verbally anyways. His face however showed the rising panic. He couldn’t have Flo telling others that he and Mike were acting weird.

“Brooks I have to go.” Avery said quickly.

“I thought Flo wasn’t talking to you.” Brooks said in confusion. He could hear the two hunters arguing before the door lock finally clicked open. 

“Hi Flo…” It was the last thing the wolf heard Avery say before the call ended. He didn't like the way Avery sounded when he greeted the girl, it sounded way too happy. Avery had not mentioned anything about talking to Flo again. He had made it seem like he had no interest in speaking to her. Brooks knew of the slight history Flo and Avery had, and he knew how obsessed Avery was about making sure people’s feeling for him were real. Had Avery lied to him about speaking to his old flame? It wasn’t like Brooks felt threatened by Flo, or he wouldn’t admit that he was anyways.   
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The viewing room had been refurnished by the time the hunters returned. Their red chairs had been replaced by simpler blue velvet chairs. The chairs were placed behind a long table, on the other side of the table sat a solitary matching chair. For the second portion of the competition the top five ranked would be given ten minutes alone with each of the remaining seven contestants. They were free to ask questions about anything that they wanted. Meanwhile there would be a party happening in the rooms below them where they would join when done to announce which five moved on to the final round of the competition. The third portion would happen the next day to give the contestants some time to rest. The first contestant to show up was the Hunter from England. The five asked him typical question asking about his strengths and weaknesses, where he sees himself in five year as far hunting. He was well spoken although a bit dull. The five could tell he was confident in himself but not cocky. Cockiness was a negative trait in most hunters eyes, cockiness led to sloppiness, which led to death. It was part of the reason why they were searching for three new hunters to begin with. The Palestinian girl was second to join them in the room. She was quiet but when asked a question she got right to the point, some of the other hunters tried to be eloquent while speaking often misusing words and coming off dumber than they hoped. Luckily for them they were not being judged on language since English was a second language for most of them. When asked what her last hunt was however the Palestinian Hunter came up short. She had not actually been in a hunt outside of schooling, she was quite young at fifteen, perhaps too young to join the ranks at the time. The fact that she had made it that far was extremely impressive. Most of the interviews seemed to blend together, the hunters in question were too well rehearsed and had almost the exact same answers. In order to figure out who would move forward the five focused on their body language and composure. Avery listened to their vocal movements for any faults. In school the hunters were beaten over the head with how important composure was. Most supernatural creatures could hear your heart, smell your fear, Avery himself could sense a few of those things. They had all been trained in veiling those human behaviors when in danger. If they could not veil them now amongst their own how would they be expected to do it in the real hunting world? The majority of young hunters in wealthy families grew up in a safety bubble that most were not prepared to escape at a young age. The Russian blond Hunter was the last to go into questioning. She looked the most comfortable of all of the hunters. She was friendly and warm. Those were good traits to have when innocent people were involved in hunts. Hunters needed to be relatable and trustworthy for people to willingly follow their orders in a crisis. The Russian Hunter struggled to stand up in her tight dress but she laughed it off as she walked out of the room thanking the five hunters for the opportunity they were giving her. The five were left alone to deliberate their decision. It didn’t take long for them to decide most of them had picked up on the traits that some of the contestants lacked.

Down in the ballroom of the facility the rest of the guests dined and spoke freely reuniting with friends and acquaintances from across the world. The friendly conversation came to a halt when the five hunters entered the room and made their way towards their table at the front of the room. The eyes of every person in the room followed them as they move in a line to be seated. The seven remaining contestants walked to the long table several feet in front of the top five ranked. Mike was the hunter chosen to deliver the news to the contestants. She stood awaiting for the seven to arrive at their seats.

“After speaking with all of you we taken much thought to deliberate which five will be moving forward into tomorrow’s portion of the competition.” She began. “When I speak your name please step forward,” The seven contestants sat uncomfortably in their seats. “Mossi Yego,” The Kenyan Male stood up and walked around the table to stand in front of it. “Dianna Schpak.” The Russian blonde followed behind the Kenyan. “Maja Patil,” Mike didn’t try to hide her distaste for the Hindi girl. Maja smiled as she walked to stand next to Dianna. “Harold Worthington.” The British hunter moved fast to stand next to Maja. “And Issa Segie.” The Kenyan girl smiled widely reminding the others how lovely her smile was. The Palestinian girl and American hunter were left seated in disappointment. “Congratulations to the five of you,” Mike forced a smile looking at the five hunters before her. “take the rest of the night to celebrate your achievements and rest for tomorrow.”


	6. Inappropriate thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brooks is left alone with his thoughts...over thinking gets the best of him.

Chapter 5 Inappropriate Thoughts

Clear Waters without Mike and Avery was pretty boring. Brooks didn’t have anyone to talk to or anything to do. It didn’t help that he didn’t really know anyone else. He had not gone out for a run in the woods since his run in with the local pack. He had asked what the creatures with red eyes were but he didn’t get an answer. Ivy, the pack leader was very secretive. Brooks didn’t blame her, having a new wolf in her territory was bound to put her on edge. Especially knowing that said wolf had brought a siren with him. She was just being cautious. Being alone for a few days was making the wolf go crazy. Werewolves were affectionate tactile creatures, it was why living in pack worked so well for them. Brooks was missing his pack, his weird, completely unnatural pack. 

The last time he had spoken to Avery they were cut off by Florence. Florence Battaligna. According to Avery, he and Flo had had some sort of fling before he and Brooks met. However after finding out about his siren powers Avery wasn’t so sure how real their fling had been. Avery wouldn’t admit it but Brooks knew that it was something Avery wanted to get to the bottom of. The wolf didn’t like the idea of Avery talking to Flo, what would happen if it had been real. The more he thought about it the more horrible ideas that rushed into his mind. Ideas of Avery and Flo talking, kissing, touching …he took a deep breath feeling a deep growl in his chest at the thoughts. Having those thoughts was not helping his predicament at all. He needed to get out of the house, the only place he really knew was the restaurant. It would have to do, it was better than staying at home or going back into the woods. He pulled on Avery’s knitted cardigan and headed out the door. 

The restaurant was dead compared to its usual amount of customers that ran in and out of the building. He walked in and sat himself at his usual table by the kitchen door. Jerilyn stood at the register ringing up customers. Brooks left Avery’s cardigan on the booth and walked into the kitchen. 

“Hey guys.” He greeted the cooks. He took an order form and scribbled his usual order. The cooks just smiled and nodded at him. He filled a cup with orange soda and headed back to his booth. He sat quietly watching customers and looking over the restaurant. They repainted it in a dark red when they bought it, it was much better than the bright blue it had been before. The upholstery on the booths and barstools matched the paint. The woodwork all around was different shades of rich browns complimenting the reds perfectly. The flooring was a medium grey. The ceiling was the same grey with a tiny bit of green mixed in. It was a trick that Avery and Mike had seen online. Something about red and green being complimentary colors and the neutral of the grey mixed in would be soothing to people’s eyes. Brooks had never been the artistic type, not when it came to color anyway. Carpentry and handy work was more his thing.

“Brooks there is some people here looking for you.” Jerilyn said pointing to the bar stool on the other end of the restaurant. Wren the beta werewolf sat with two others, a short girl and a tan guy. Brooks didn’t recognize them, it wasn’t Ivy or Robin, but he was sure that they were wolves too. Wren smiled at him and motioned for the two other with her to follow. Brooks sat up straight as he watched the wolves approach him.

“Brooks.” Wren smiled at him, she had a beautiful smile. 

“Wren.” He nodded from the booth. Wren moved in and sat next to him forcing him to move over to give her space. He had to pull out Avery’s cardigan from underneath her. 

“Oh sorry.” She giggled. She was a lot perkier than all the other werewolves that Brooks had met. Maybe Clear Waters was a safe and friendly place for the supernatural, red eyed creatures excluded of course. The two other wolves sat across from them. “This is Stormy.” Wren said cheerfully pointing to the tiny red head across from them. She was not a natural red hair, it was a deep auburn, the kind that can only come from a bottle. Stormy had a dark complexion, and amazing bone structure. Brooks couldn’t distinguish her ethnicity. He didn’t know why it mattered to him, but not knowing made him want to know more. He assumed she was biracial, Asian perhaps.

“Hawaiian.” Stormy smiled at him. Wren giggled looking at Brooks’s shocked expression. “It’s what you were trying to figure out right?” The red head asked. Brooks nodded almost ashamed.

“I’m sorry,” He began. “I wasn’t trying to…” She waved her hand at him dismissively.

“It’s alright.” She laughed. Her voice was sweet and soothing, went perfectly with her youthful glowing skin and big brown eyes. 

“And that over there is Shiloh.” Wren placed her hand on Brook’s to get his attention back to introductions. The contact felt good, he hadn’t realized he was craving it this badly. He felt guilty for being comforted by a total stranger. But he supposed he couldn’t be angry at his own nature.

“Hello.” Shiloh greeted in a deep voice breaking Brooks out of his own thoughts. Shiloh was tall and tan. Not brown skinned but tan as in he spent too much time in the sun. He looked like all of the California male stereotypes that Brooks hated. Sun kissed skin, unruly bleach blonde hair, t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off, cargo shorts, all he needed was a snap back hat and flip flops and he’d be one hundred percent on the money. Brooks just nodded and gave him a tight smile, hopefully Shiloh would not make multiple appearances in his life. 

“Avery isn’t going to be back until Monday.” Brooks blurted out. He figured that was why the wolves were there, although he thought Ivy would be the one to lead the pack not Wren. 

“Not till Monday?” Jerilyn interrupted in a gloomy tone. “I miss him.” She slumped her shoulders and pouted. Her southern accent gave her voice a charming little kick. Brooks was aware of Jerilyn’s special interests in Avery, he didn’t care for it. “He’s not bad to look at.” She winked at Wren. Brooks felt his wolf clawing at him begging to be allowed to attack. The longer Jerilyn stood talking about Avery the more images he got of the two of them doing things like he had imagined with Flo. Wren just smiled looking up at the waitress. “Will we be needing any food for your guest Brooks?” She took out her order form and waited for someone to speak. She looked from Brooks to Shiloh smiling. 

“Oh no,” Wren responded. “We won’t be here long, but thank you.”

“Suit yourself guys.” The perky strawberry blonde said turning. “I’ll be right back with your food Brooks.” She passed through the door into the kitchen. 

“We aren’t here about the siren.” Wren said. She turned to the side to her purse and began to dig through it. Brooks watched her as she searched. Her chestnut colored hair cascaded off of her shoulders and danced freely in the air with every little move she made. “Here.” She turned holding Avery’s sweat band in her hand. “You must have dropped it when you were running from the red eyed things.” He had forgotten about the head band, he was thankful that she had found it and not those things. 

“Thank you.” Brooks answered taking the headband. He looked it over, it seemed fine, and he was surprised it didn’t have twigs or leaves on it.

“It’s not yours.” Wren said looking at it. It was a statement not an accusation. She had picked up a different scent than Brooks’s on it. “Didn’t want whoever owns it to be mad at you for losing it.” Brooks chuckled to himself not being able to imagine Avery throwing a fit over one of his many head bands. “My sister is looking into those things you said you saw in the woods.”

“And?” He put the head band in the pocket of the cardigan. “Did she find out anything?”

The brunette shook her head sighing. “Not really, just that they must have migrated here recently.” She looked up at him studying his face. Her eyes were captivating, the green as perfect and complimentary to her milky skin. “Do you have any other things you noticed about them to help us figure out what they were?”

“No, I told you guys everything that I saw.” He thought for a second trying to picture the red-eyed creatures. “Maybe Avery and Mike could figure it out when they get back.” He thought to himself.

“How would they know?” Stormy asked from across the table. Brooks looked at her confused. “How would Avery and this Mike person know what these things are?” He must have mumbled his thought out loud. 

“They have a lot of books on this type of stuff.” Brooks responded. He wasn’t lying technically.

“Why?” Wren asked. He couldn’t tell the about Avery and Mike being hunters, that would make them enemies immediately. 

“They just love to read about this stuff I guess.” 

Wren looked at him trying to figure out if he was lying to her. She blinked a few times before nodding and turning back in her seat to face forward. 

“Here you go.” Jerilyn said coming out of the kitchen. She set a plate in front of Brooks. Chicken tenders, he was so hungry. “Are you guys sure you still don’t want something?” She asked in her sweet southern voice. She cocked her head smiling at Stormy and Shiloh. 

“We’re sure. Thanks.” Wren said pulling her bag off of the floor. Jerilyn shrugged and moved on to her next table. She pulled a piece of paper and scribbled on it. “Here.” She handed the paper to Brooks. It was her number. “If you want to hang out, maybe get dinner or something.” She smiled widely. She was attracted to him. He could smell the scent of her attraction, it smelled amazing. “You seemed kind of lonely without your pack here.” She nodded to the other two wolves and the started sliding out of the booth. She wasn’t wrong, he was going stir crazy being all alone. 

“I’ll keep your offer in mind.” It was the only things he could think of to avoid saying yes or no. Wren may have seemed sweet but he was still technically on her good side.

“Ouch.” She laughed looking down. She had picked up on the rejection. “Figured you were with someone anyways.” She added.

“I’m not…” He stopped himself, he didn’t know where he and Avery stood. “I’m not, sure where we stand as of now.” Brooks didn’t know what to say, it had been a while since his eyes were focused on anyone besides Avery.

She lifted the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “At least I tried, right?” She waved goodbye at him before turning to leave with the other two wolves. Brooks sat in silence not sure how to process what had just happened. He had always had those doubt about his and Avery’s relationships but that was the first time he had spoken them out loud. It felt realer when he said it. Where did they stand?

Brooks spent the next couple of hours just sitting in the booth. It was better than sitting alone at home letting his thoughts get the best of him. Jerilyn stopped by every now and then to check on him. She asked him about Avery a few times. Brooks tried his best to avoid giving away any information on Avery, it was hard with how nosey the southern belle was about the subject. He was reading from the local newspaper when he heard a familiar voice at the counter. A group of police officers came in in full uniform. At the front of the group was the fairy princess from the bar, the one that had been talking to Avery at the counter. She had her hair pulled back in a tight bun. She looked just as stunning in her uniform as she had in her day dress. The tight bun just emphasized the beauty in her features. 

“Hi, we were invited here by Avery.” The fairy princess was leaning over the counter looking up at Jerilyn. “He gave me this card.” She pulled Avery’s business card from her back pocket. It was hard for the werewolf not to eavesdrop on the conversation. “He said cops eat here for free.” She smiled widely at the waitress. She seemed too sweet to be a police officer, unless she used her sweetness to manipulate the perps. 

“One second officers.” Jerilyn said looking over the card and moving towards Brooks. “Brooks, do we feed officers for free?” She handed the card over to him. Brooks looked it over trying to ignore the scent of the fairy princess’s perfume emanating from it. It was Avery’s writing on it, and Avery had mentioned to him that he did promise the lovely cop a free meal. He nodded at Jerilyn and slid out of the booth. The group of police officers watched him as he approached them. 

“Hi,” He smiled at the group. “Welcome to Mike and Ave’s please have a seat.” The group started speaking all at once as they sat on the stools around the counter. Brooks looked to Jerilyn so that she could start taking the officer’s orders.

“Is he here?” The fairy princess asked. The wolf heard the jump in her heartbeat at the thought of Avery. He shook his head.

“He is out of town at the moment.” He wasn’t going to tell her when he was going to return, it was not her business. “But I will tell him you were here looking for him Officer…” He dragged out the last syllable of the word waiting for her to fill in the blank.

“Wilkins.” She smiled at him. He forced a smile and handed her a menu. “Oh no,” She passed the menu back. “Avery and I spoke about the chicken sandwich.” Jerilyn wrote down the fairy princess’s order. “I heard it was delicious.” Brooks nodded still forcing the smile and turned his attention to the other cops. They all ordered a variation of chicken, perhaps they wanted protein to maintain their muscle mass. “So when will he come back so I can thank him in person?” She asked. Sure, THANK him in person. Brooks shrugged playing dumb. His wolf was becoming more and more territorial and jealous the longer he spent apart from Avery and Mike. He was thinking that maybe he should tell Avery to stop using his siren powers on random people, he was getting a little too good at it. 

After helping Jerilyn take care of the police officers, Brooks sat back down in the booth by the kitchen. He was being annoyed at how much interest people were suddenly having in Avery. Maybe the siren was inviting it while Brooks wasn’t around. There was no reason for Avery to have written his personal number on the business card. He flipped the card over in his hands. Clearly Avery had given Officer Wilkins some sort of sign that he was interested in her. How could he have missed it? He felt his blood rising, he had been so loyal to the siren for months, dealing with his wishy washy romantic attitude. All of that to find out that Avery had been looking at others outside of his siren training. That dinner offer from Wren was starting to look better and better the more he sat alone with his thoughts. He looked over and saw Officer Fairy Princess take a picture of herself eating the chicken sandwich. He even over heard her stating it was so she could show it to Avery. It shouldn’t have bothered him considering how stupid it was but it did. He took out the piece of paper with Wren’s number on it and pondered over it. He sat in the booth with the piece of paper in front of him staring at it. He wasn’t sure how long he did it for but it must have been a while.

“If you could tell Avery we said thank you for the lunch.” Officer Wilkins’s voice broke him out of his thought. He had not noticed her move towards his table, he must have really been deep in thought. “He was right, the chicken sandwich here is better.” She smiled warmly at him before turning to leave with the rest of her coworkers. Her sincerely sweet conduct pissed him off even more. Like she was rubbing Avery’s interest in her in his face. Fine he was jealous, he could admit. He had a right to be. He took out his phone and dialed the number on the paper.

“Hello?” Wren’s voice sounded confused, she didn’t recognize his number.

“Wren, it’s Brooks.” He greeted roughly running his hand over his face. It wasn’t his nature to do something like this. “I was hoping the dinner invitation was still standing.” He powered through the statement pushing away the urge to hang up on her and wait to confront Avery about the problem.

“Definitely. I’d love to have some time alone to talk.” She sounded excited. It had been a while since he heard someone so sure of wanting to be around him. “Do you like Chinese food?” It took him a few seconds to answer her question. He saw the cop car drive off through the window.

“I love it.” He answered.  
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Spending time alone with Wren was easier than Brooks had anticipated. He had spent so much time trying to avoid people since the murder of his family that he had just made up his mind that they were all bad. Wren wasn't bad. She was playful and easy going, she was always smiling and half dancing out of excitement as they walked through the streets of Clear Waters. They had finished eating a couple of hours prior and decided to walk around town so that she could show him all the things he had been missing by locking himself away. Several people waved and greeted Wren as they walked. It wasn't surprising to him that she was well known in town with how outgoing she was. 

“Tell me all about your pack.” She looked up at him in anticipation. “You're the first wolf I've met who isn't in my pack.” He was surprised at hearing that.

“I don't really like to talk about that.” He looked down as they walked. It was a sore subject for him to speak of his family. Avery had asked him to talk about it many times but failed. It wasn't that Avery wanted to know every detail of his family life, he just knew it would be therapeutic for Brooks to talk to someone about it. “Unfortunately they're not here anymore.” Wren picked up on the sadness and pain from the male wolf’s body language.

“I'm sorry,” She touched his arm timidly. “I didn't know.” She squeezed his bicep comfortingly still looking at him. It was important for her that Brooks understood. They walked in silence for a block stopping at an intersection waiting for a light to change colors to allow them to walk. “Tell me about this Avery.” She was trying to change subject. But unfortunately this wasn't a subject Brooks wanted to talk about either. 

“Maybe it's time we head back.” He said trying not to sound rude. Her eyebrows knitted together but she nodded at his suggestion. “I should get back home before it gets dark.” He said. 

“I can walk you to your car.” She offered. He stopped walking and patted his pockets. They weren't too far from the restaurant. They had walked from Mike and Ave’s to the Chinese restaurant a few blocks away. 

“I think I left my keys at the restaurant,” Luckily he had the restaurant keys. “I must have left them in the cardigan in the booth I was sitting in.” 

“Let’s go find them.” She looked at her watch. Just past 7 o’clock. She saw Brooks looking around the street confused. “What?” She asked looking up at the blonde. She really like the way he styles himself. Rugged and manly with just enough style, not like Shiloh, she had been over the beach boy look from the moment she began her interest in dating. There was so many long and greasy haired blondes in Clear Waters, a well-groomed man was a breath of fresh air. She wanted to run her fingers through his neatly trimmed beard, as laughable as it sounded. Brooks looked like the fashionable lumberjack that she had been yearning for for so long, way too long. 

“Where did everyone go?” He asked. Wren followed his gaze and saw that they were the only two on the street. Clear Waters may have been a small town but it was big enough to have a decent nightlife downtown. Especially on the weekends. 

“That's weird.” She muttered looking down the road as far as she could, and with her werewolf vision it was pretty far. Then she saw them. Two dark figures running at them full speed. Their skin was pitch black and their eyes a murderous red. “It's those things.” She pulled on Brooks’s sleeve pointing down the empty road. These things were moving in fast. 

“We have to go.” The blonde said taking her hand and running back towards the restaurant. “We need to lock ourselves inside.” She huffed out as they ran as fast as they could. Wren was thankful that she had worn her ballerina flats and not something with a heel. “Avery installed a line of viburnum wood along the restaurant floor. If we get inside and lock it they won't be able to get in!” Viburnum was an herb that worked wonders on the supernatural.

“But viburnum works against wolves too!” She rebutted. “How do we get in?” She was right one of those wonders was working as a force field against almost any supernatural being, wolves included.

“As long as I don't make skin contact while it's closed we should be fine.” He turned left pulling her with him. He didn't need to worry about her being able to keep up, she was a wolf too, just as fast as him. “We can stay in the restaurant until its safe.” They needed to run just a few blocks more and they would reach safety. They heard the two dark creatures turning the corner knocking a trash can over with their momentum. It took the things a second to recover and start running full speed again. They were running on all fours but with a humanoid body. Turning abruptly when their back legs are much longer than their front was a problem. Brooks made a mental note of the incident for when they inevitably faced these things again. The creatures’ claws clinked on the pavement as they moved. Wren kept focused on the sounds that the creatures made behind them. Her sister Ivy was tough when it came to training her pack. She tried to make sure that those under her care were properly trained with all of their heightened senses. She often blind folded them so that they were forced to use their sense of smell and hearing to defend themselves. As much as she hated to admit it Wren was thankful for the tough training at times like these.

“These things are fast!” She panted. The parking lot to the restaurant was in their view and getting closer. She pondered the idea that they get in her car and drive to the safety of the pack. She highly doubted this things had the capabilities to keep up with her car. Even if they did she doubted they would try to take on a total of six werewolves, and survive. The clinking on the cement was getting louder, they were catching up. “They’re gaining on us!”

“We are almost there!” Brooks responded. He was still pulling her along as they sprinted down the street. “Tell me when they get too close!” The creatures snarled at them. Wren didn’t like how close the sound of that snarl sounded. 

“You have a plan?” She asked. The closer the creatures got to them the less time they would have to stop at the door to open it.

“I think so!” He hoped his instincts were good. Otherwise they would end up fighting those things in the middle of the street. He could smell fear wafting off of Wren even though he was upwind from her. The red-eyed creatures must have picked up on the scent of fear too. Their steps gained speed with new vigor, they were feeding off of the terror they inflicted on them. It would only be seconds before the creatures could pounce on them.

“They’re getting closer!” Wren warned. “I think they’re moving faster or something!”

“When I signal you, turn immediately!” He ordered. He felt her place her other hand on top of his. She was bracing her herself, trusting that he would lead her to safety. There was another growl from behind them, this one sounded too close for comfort. Wren turned to look at the things they were only yards behind them. 

“They’re like right on us.” She turned back to Brooks. 

“Okay.” He tightened his grip on her hand. “Get ready.” They were already at the edge of the parking lot. The creatures were step behind them. It felt like they were growling right in Wren’s ear. Sometimes having heightened senses wasn’t as amazing as it sounded. She panicked when she saw where they were headed. Brooks was running them directly into the back of his truck. “Left!” He pulled her to the side going around the truck. One of the creatures wasn’t fast enough to sidestep the vehicle and collided loudly into the tailgate. The second creatures stumbled to go around but was still running after them. Brooks knew it was only a second before it would be running at full speed. “Turn!” He pulled Wren sharply to the right as soon as they passed the front of his truck. They headed towards the only other car in the lot, Wren’s. “Okay we’re gonna do it again! Then head to the door!” She nodded at him keeping her eyes directly on her car. Ivy was going to kill her for the scratches that were inevitably going to happen to her car. It had been a gift for her twentieth birthday from the pack. “Now!” Brooks pushed her to the right as soon as they passed her car. The two wolves headed to the door letting go of each other’s hand. The second creature crashed into the back of Wren’s car. She heard the back turn light shatter on impact. Brooks reached in his pocket and took out the key to the door. Wren watched the creatures stumbling hazed from their collisions. Brooks pulled his shirt up to cover his hand and turned the door handle. The fabric covering his hand was thin, he felt a tingling when touching the handle. They felt the humming of the viburnum’s powers emanating from the walls. He pushed the door open and the power they felt died down. He pulled Wren inside with him slamming the door closed. The power vibrated back up instantaneously. They were safe. Wren stumbled to the closest stool and plopped down breathing hard. 

“What the hell are those things?” She pushed her hair back away from her face it was a tangled mess from all of the running. Her heart was beating unbelievably rapid. He saw her hands shaking. There was a loud bang on the window. It was dark out but they could see the red eyes prowling back and forth on the sidewalk outside.

“C’mon.” Brook said taking her hand once more. He picked up Avery’s cardigan from the booth and led her into the kitchen. Seeing those things outside of the building was not going to calm her down. 

“I’m sorry.” She said quietly following close to him. She pressed herself close when he took her into the office. Avery and Mike had a small sofa in there, they could use it to rest. He led her to the sofa and sat next to her. She leaned into his shoulder. “I have never really faced anything without my pack.” She wrapped both of her arms around his. The scent of fear was slowly dissipating from her and being replaced by her perfume. It was nice, he distinguished a hint of vanilla in it. It reminded him of Avery, he always had vanilla scented candles in his room. “It gives me a little anxiety.” She looked up at him placing her chin on his shoulder. She gazed at him for a few seconds. “But having you here helps.” She smiled at him timidly. He didn’t know how to take that comment. She was moving her thumbs in circles on his arm. He felt her heart jump when she looked up to him a second time. She was enticed by him, it had been weeks since anyone had looked at him that way. She was studying his face, something Avery was afraid to do lately. 

He took deep breath feeling uneasy at Wren’s attention, or rather affection. The inhale caused him to pick up on her pheromones, they were lustful and wanting. He shook his head to clear his mind. Werewolves were impulsive creatures by nature, add a stressful situation where emotions run high mixed with attraction and things were bound to get messy. Wren was a gorgeous girl and he could not help but find her appealing, her desires clouding his mind was not making things any easier. She lifted herself slightly bring her face to his. Her heart was beating faster as she moved closer to him. He liked the affectionate touches she gave him, he had been yearning for physical touch and she was delivering. She knitted her brows almost confused, she wasn’t sure if she should move in closer or not. He saw her eyes travel down to his lips, she let out a tense sigh at the sight. That look sent him over the edge, he moved in crashing his lips with hers. Wren was surprised at his move for a second before she started to kiss him back. She liked the feeling of his soft facial hair against her cheeks, not something she thought she would enjoy. She lifted herself higher and straddling his lap. She looked down at him when she pulled from their kiss, his face following her with his lips pursed and reaching out for hers. She smiled down at him laughing at how much had happened. Minutes ago they were running for their lives, now she was in his lap and making out. She leaned down to kiss him again. It was a rough kiss, his hands were touching her everywhere but she wanted more. She pulled away from him to pull her top off and over her head. He looked at the span of her skin in wonder. It was soft, and unblemished, he needed to place his lips all over it. She adored the feeling of his rough, warm hands on her skin. His grasp was rough and shameless, he wanted her right then and there. He didn’t hear his phone cushioned inside the cardigan.

Hey just wanted to make sure you’re okay before a go to bed…Miss you! -Avery.


	7. Deadly Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second day of challenges has begun for the remaining deadly dozen hopefuls. However things don't go as planned when the council throws the judges a major curve ball.

Chapter 6: Deadly Tower

The second day of the initiation process started out with a surprise for the top five ranked. The council of course waited until everyone had arrived to drop the news on the unsuspecting contestants and judges. The third and final round of eliminations was usually an individual rescue mission in an obstacle course filled with attackers. This year the council, well mostly the Battaligna’s and their supporters decided to change it up.

“Five on five, capture the flag obstacle course.” Mr. Bishops announced. The arena lid up behind him to expose what they had set up the night before. It was huge. Avery didn’t remember the training facility being this big now that he looked at it. The arena had been separated into three sections, two of them were very small with the biggest section in the middle. They were separated by ten foot tall climbing walls. Avery figured that each team would start on one of the small sections and make their way into the middle section. The middle section had a lot going on. There was a giant tower in the center of the section. It was entirely made of wood and three stories high. It had holes all over the walls to help them climb their way in case the stairs were too much of a hassle. It looked like a tree house that could kill you if you stepped on it wrong. On the right of the tower was a bunch of mat in different sizes. Even from far away the hunters could tell that some of them were only foam and clearly meant to throw off their balance. On the left side of the tower farthest away from the viewing room was a maze of very tall poles that they would eventually be expected to maneuver through. The other half of that section was completely empty. None of them knew what to expect.

Mike turned to Avery confused. “Are we going to do it too?” She asked looking over her clothing. For as long as the council had held the initiation ceremonies, the judges never stepped out of the viewing room above the arena. None of them were dressed for the occasion. Especially not the girls, all three of them were wearing dresses. Roz wore a dark fitted blazer over hers paired with spike studded high heels. She always managed to find the right balance between slutty and badass, it was her signature thing after all. She had her hair in a loose French braid along the left side of her face. Roz kept her eyes steady on her father and the other council members. 

“Yes Micheleen.” Her father answered her sternly. “You will be.” She looked down at her flowy day dress in confusion. She moved closer to Avery half hiding behind him. Avery glared at Paulo Battaligna, he knew that Paulo was the reason behind this. The five young hunters were quiet, staring down the council. They all knew that the only reason they were changing things was for the vendetta the Battaligna’s had against both the Bishops and the Makis for the death and disappearance of his sons. 

“Why?” It was Beatriz who broke the tense silence. Nobody from the council answered her. Beatriz didn’t speak much to begin with, she was a neutral force during most Royal family events. The fact that she was taking sides meant that it was obvious something was up.

“Doesn’t matter.” Roz said undoing the buttons from her blazer. “We’ll do it.” She tossed the blazer on top of one of the chairs and headed out of the room. She wore a nude tone camisole with matching panties underneath her blazer dress. She kept her stilettos on. Avery smiled smugly, she was making a power play. She was showing them that they could not control her completely- no matter how much they tried.

“We’re not done talking here.” Paulo called after her. She kept walking as if he never spoke. 

“I think we are.” Avery said nodding and takin Mike’s hand leading her out of the room. It was only ten in the morning and he was already over the whole day. “We are the judges of this after all.” He opened the door and let her through. Beatriz and Rei were right behind her. “Besides the Deadly Dozen is supposed to be out of the hands of the council unless WE call you.” He could see the smile slowly coming across his father’s face. “We will be ready in thirty minutes.” He didn’t wait for an answer before closing the door. He and the others made their way down the hall way towards one of the locker rooms. The facility had to have extra clothing for them to use. Thirty minutes would be just enough time for them to change, stretch, and come up with some last minute plan of attack. When they walked into the locker room Roz had already laid out clothes for all of them. Avery took one of the piles of clothing and walked over to the next row of lockers to separate himself from the girls. Not that he was tempted at looking but one of the girls was his own sister so it would have been awkward. Rei followed his lead and joined him in the “guy’s section,” they all changed in silence. After changing the group began to make their way towards the arena. Avery walked behind the others. It felt oddly like being in a team since they were all wearing the exact same outfit. Black sweat pants, and a grey tank top under a black running jacket. That was when it hit him. 

“We need to work as a team.” He said from behind them. Roz nodded laughing at his obvious words and opened the door to their side of the arena. They all took in the height of the wooden wall. It looked much taller when they were actually in front of it. “No that’s angle for winning.” Avery explained. He sat on the ground and began to stretch his legs. The others did the same. “The other team is competing for a spot we aren’t.”

“They’ll be selfish and try to outdo each other.” Beatriz half groaned as she leaned forward folding in half at her waist. Avery nodded.

“They’ll be less likely to help others get the flag if it means that they don’t get the glory.” He continued.

“As long as we help each other move forward then we can win.” Roz said smiling. 

“Because we are already a team.” Rei smiled at her. They reach out towards each other and bumped knuckles. Roz looked over at her boyfriend admiringly. The two of them were a team.

“Okay so let’s figure out how to get over this wall as a team.” Mike said looking up at it. There was nothing there to help them climb it. 

“I have an idea.” Beatriz said looking it over. 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The two teams had had their time to plan out what they wanted to do. All they were waiting for was the announcement over the intercom to tell them they could move forward. Avery and Rei stood in front of the girls about two feet away from each other. All three girls stood in a row behind them, Mike up front, she was the fastest of the group. Sometimes being smaller had its perks. She was going to be the first over the wall and hopefully the first to reach the flag. The intercom began to beep. The sound put all of them on edge, the beeping continued. They had to wait for ten beeps before anybody could touch the wall. Anyone who did would be disqualified from competing. Eight beeps. Nine beeps. Avery and Rei shifted on their feet. Ten beeps. The two men crouched down leaning their weight against the wall. Mike took a few quick steps and jumped up. Avery and Rei caught the bottom of her shoes and lifted with their legs so that she could easily reach the over the top of the wall. She leaned over the edge and lifted herself until she sat on the edge. The wall felt higher than it had looked now that she was on top. She looked over to the other side and could see one set of fingers struggling to pull whoever was on the other side up. 

“One of them reached the top.” She shouted back to the others. Avery and Rei were already lifting Beatriz to the top of the wall. Mike held on to the edge of the wall and turned letting herself walk halfway down until she was hanging down. She let out a breath and let herself drop the rest of the height. 

“Over the tower!” Beatriz yelled to her from the top of the wall. Mike looked to the center of the arena and spotted the first flag hanging over the top of the deadly tree house of a tower. She took off running towards it. Beatriz saw the Kenyan male lifting himself to the top of the wall. She had hoped for a different person, he was the fastest of the five remaining hopefuls. Beatriz landed on the ground and took off running behind Mike. She would need to be the one to hold off any attacks until the others climbed over. The Kenyan may have been faster but she was more experienced.

Roz was the last of the girls to be lifted. She had the most muscle of the three which would be needed to help lift Avery over the top. Roz lifted herself over the edge of the wall and turned but didn’t let herself fall completely. She folded at her waist and reached down. Avery lifted Rei by himself until the older male lifted himself over the edge. Rei did the same a Roz and reached down to Avery. Avery took a few steps back and ran at the wall. He lifted his leg and used his momentum against the wall to lift himself up a few feet. The other two caught his hands and braced themselves to help him up. Avery walked along the wall until he reached the top. Roz and Rei didn’t wait until he was ready to let themselves down. He could see that three of the other hopefuls were just reaching the top of the wall. In the tower he could see Beatriz and Mike fighting off the Kenyan male and the English male off. He didn’t lower himself down slowly like the others. He just thrust himself forward hitting the ground hard. He felt a sharp pain hit his right knee but he knew his siren powers would heal that in a minute or so. 

“Keep the other three busy by the wall!” He ordered his sister and Rei. “I’ll go help the girls.” He ran at full speed toward the tower in the center of the arena. The pain in his knee was already dulling away. Both Mike and Beatriz were on the second floor of the tower. He reached the tower and began climbing to the second story using the holes in the walls. He was thankful that each story of the tower had a large opening that he could climb through into the inside. The Kenyan was on top of Mike holding her down. Avery walked over and lifted him off of her. “Go, Mike!” Avery rushed her up the ladder toward the top of the tower. The Kenyan lifted himself to his feet and lunged at Avery. Avery sidestepped him and swung his arm back to push him forward. The Kenyan fell out of the tower but caught himself on the edge of the wall. Avery didn’t bother himself with the Kenyan and started climbing the ladder to the third floor. A loud beep rung through the arena. 

“Woo!” Mike screamed happily climbing down the ladder with the flag in hand. Beatriz behind her. There was a round of applause from the audience. The hunters were so focused on each other that they had forgotten that hundreds of other hunters were watching.

“Let’s get down before they lower the next flag.” Beatriz ordered. The three of them began to run down. The Kenyan lunged at Avery once more knocking him to the ground. The two rolled on the ground trying to out power each other. There was another beeping as the second flag was lowered. All ten hunters stopped fighting to look around for the flag. It had been lowered over the area of poles just over the top of the poles. Avery used the distraction to push the Kenyan off of him. The Kenyan hit the side of the tower slowing him down enough for Avery to run towards the poles. Roz and Rei were already running into the maze of poles with the three female hopefuls close on their tails. Mike locked her eyes on the Hindi girl Maja and ran towards her. The two had disliked each other for so long but Mike could never express her anger physically, this was her moment to do it. Avery was surprised at exactly how fast Mike could be if she put her mind to it. Within seconds she was within reach of Maja. She lunged forward clotheslining Maja at the waist. The two girls tumbled to the ground barely dodging the maze of poles in front of them. The other hunters took a moment to watch them. It was clear from their struggles that this was more than just a competition to them. It reminded Avery of the way Max and Kit Battaligna would bring the worse out of him. He hated seeing Mike acting the same way. He moved towards the two girls determined to break them up. This was supposed to be a tactical activity not a personal fight. He spotted the English male coming towards him from the edge of his peripheral. Avery turned quickly on his heels bringing his hands into one fist. He swung his arms like he was batting at the English male and hit his chest. The force of his swing added to the other male’s momentum was enough to throw the English male back to the ground. Avery turned back to Mike who was still on the ground with Maja. They were not fighting like trained hunters. They were like two children fighting over a toy. 

“Bea get Maja.” Avery said pointing to the Hindi hunter. He kneeled down and began to pull Mike away from the other girl. Beatriz took a hold of Maja with the help of the Female Kenyan. Avery lifted Mike and pulled her away from the cluster of people. “Stop it!” He whispered sternly. He let a bit of his siren out pushing his vexation and disappointment in Mike’s action. His voice hit her immediately. Her face contorted into confusion. The anger she felt towards Maja was steamrolled by the shame she felt from Avery chastising her. Avery heard Maja apologize from somewhere behind them. “This is not the time Mike!” Roz watched with curiosity from the distance as Avery scolded Mike. The body language between the two of them showed how much they had really grown to know each other since they left the majority of the hunting world behind. It looked like an older brother lecturing his little sister. Not angry, not spiteful, just agitated. “I know you hate her but this is making you both look stupid.” He turned back to look a Maja who was still standing quietly with Beatriz. The other hunters had stopped to watch the whole fiasco. “Are you okay?” He called back to Maja. She nodded looking down. He could see a slight bruise on her arm. Avery turned back to Mike and looked her over. She had small scratches on her neck but otherwise she was fine. He put his hand on the back of her neck and pulled their foreheads together. “Take a deep breath, get it together Mikey.” His voice was softer this time, letting her know that this was just slip up and she could bounce back. She nodded smiling to herself, he called her Mikey, it was nickname her began calling her as they grew closer as friends. She held her hand up towards Maja, not a real gesture but it got the apology across to the other hunter. Maja returned the gesture. “Let’s go.” Avery said turning his attention back to the flag. The intercom beeped loudly over the arena. Avery looked up to the see the Russian girl sitting sliding down one of the pole with the flag tucked into her sleeve. She had taken the chance to get it while the others focused on him and Mike. He was impressed. She smiled winking at the audience as they cheered for her clever steal.

The group looked around trying to spot the next flag. Mike spotted it first and pulled Avery with her to the empty area of the arena. The rest of the hunters were still standing in a cluster and began to fight each other off without making any real movement towards the flag. Muscles crashed together, arms swinging in battle. If the two groups of hunter had had weapons the arena would have been a bloodbath by that point. Avery and Mike kept putting distance from the battle royal and closer to the flag. Avery saw Roz with her lip curled back in a snarl as she swept her leg across the ground to trip both the Kenyan and Russian hunters. Mike stopped just beneath the flag. The flag wasn’t very high but still out of their reach. Avery knelt down to give Mike a boost but was attacked by the Kenyan male. The Kenyan swung his leg out at him but Avery leaned back managing to dodge it. He crossed his arms over his chest and thrust them out pushing the Kenyan’s leg up at a higher angle. It was enough for the Kenyan to lose balance and stumble falling backward slightly, he ended in a kneeling position. Mike took a running start jumping and using the Kenyan’s position as a jumping off point turning her body towards Avery. Avery crossed his arms once more holding them out, giving her another step to climb. She stepped on his arms jumping a few inches higher to snatch the flag from its holster. Avery moved his arms and used them to slow Mike’s fall back to the ground by holding her at the waist. The intercom beeped loudly again. They were back in the lead two to one. Avery laughed messing up Mike’s hair as he ran back towards the other hunters. Roz nodded to the section of the arena with all the blocks. None of the other hunters had noticed the flag yet. Both siblings took off running at full speed. Roz bulldozed over the Kenyan girl on her way. The dark skinned girl landed with a large thud. Several of the other hunters stopped running to check on her. Avery reached the block first and leapt to land on top of the first one. He landed already moving forward. Roz was not far behind him. The second block was spongey and soft. Both siblings lost balance and fell to their knees. They tried to stand but their counterweights made it impossible. They saw a couple of the other hunters already approaching them. Mike was on the ground wrestling the Russian girl while Bea tried to keep the British male at bay. He could hear Rei struggling to slow the Kenyan male down. 

“Give me your hand?” Roz ordered reaching out for her brother. They had to use each other to stand up. Working as one was the only way to do it. They held hands and managed to stand. “Move forward.” They took steps simultaneously towards the next solid block. Roz took a step up and pulled her brother up with her. They looked up at the flag trying to figure out how to get to it. 

“Let’s take them out first.” Avery leered at the Hindi hunter and the Kenyan girl who was staring daggers at Roz. “Then we figure out if we can move these things!” He moved toward the Kenyan girl already feeling her anger towards Roz envelope him in a cocoon. He had to keep them separate or else emotions would rise higher, he knew he couldn’t handle it without his music box on him. The dark skinned girl swung at him but her eyes were still focused on his sister. Her anger was strong, he could almost taste it. He wasn’t sure how to attack her, he didn’t want to hurt her. He focused on blocking her attacks towards him. Her anger was rising the more he blocked her from her preferred target. He needed to calm her down somehow. Her oncoming rage was starting to make him grow heated. He was having a harder time holding his siren back. He could feel it beckoning him to let it out, if this girl didn’t cool off soon he would have no choice. She slammed her elbow into his side forcing him to the ground gasping for air. She started moving towards Roz again. The siren in Avery broke out and grabbed the girl’s ankle. He pulled it towards him throwing off her balance. “Stay down!” His voice was raspy and strong. He wasn’t sure if it echoed through the room or if he imagined it. The Kenyan girl’s face went vacant the second she heard the siren’s order. She fell to the ground almost lifeless. “Calm down.” He whispered to her. She looked up at him in confusion unsure what to do. He left her on the ground and moved back to Roz. She had already started moving the soft blocks out of her way. She looked at her brother then at the Kenyan girl. She knew immediately what had happened. Her expression went from focused to enraged. What if one of the audience members had noticed what he had done?

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” She pulled on his jacket like a mother chastising her son. “There is hundreds of hunters watching us!” He pulled away from her and lifted the nearest block. He started helping her build a pyramid to reach the flag. 

“I don’t have my music box on me!” He sneered back picking up a soft block to move it away. “She’s pissed at you! I kept her away from you to avoid worse problems!” Maja lunged herself at him. He swung his body at full force and releasing the block in the Hindi Hunter’s direction. The block was almost as big as the small girl. The two collided mid-air and she was landed on the ground with the block on top of her. “Let’s just get the damn flag.” He needed this to be over before any more people pissed each other off. The pyramid was high enough for the two of them to climb together. The Kenyan girl was standing again, the siren’s effect on her was wearing off. “C’mon.” Avery crouched down and wrapped his arm just below his sister’s buttocks. He used his legs to lift her up high enough for her to reach the flag. 

“Just a little bit higher!” She called down to him trying to reach the bottom of the flag. She couldn’t move in either direction otherwise they’d both come tumbling down to the bottom of the pyramid. Her fingertips grazed the bottom of the flag, she just needed a few more inches. Avery saw both the Hindi girl and the Kenyan girl start heading towards the pyramid. He took a deep breath and lifted himself to the tip of his toes. He had to stay as still as possible to avoid falling. Their combined weight was hurting his feet. 

“Got it!” Roz called tapping his shoulder. He let go of her and let her fall down next to him. The intercom signaled their capture. Three to one. There was no way that the contestants could win, there was no reason for them to continue. Roz held the flag up for the crowd to see. She was replied by a loud cheer. They were done. They won. The siblings climbed down to be greeted by their teammates. Mike looked at Avery questioningly when she saw the daze the Kenyan girl had been in. Avery shook his head, this was not the time to talk about it. “Let’s go.” Roz said to her group. They walked off of the arena looking up at the viewing room where the council had been watching. The council’s attempt to humiliate them had failed, they headed to the viewing room to not so nicely ask the council to leave them to deliberate about the contestants. “Don't even start to think that I forgot what you did out there.” Roz whispered angrily to her brother. Bea was in front of the group so she was sure that she wouldn't hear them. 

“I had no choice!” He hissed back. “I couldn't control it!”

“Then what the hell have you been doing this whole time away from Chicago?” She was starting to send his siren into overdrive. He felt light headed, it was why he rarely used his powers without the music box in his pocket. 

“Roz stop!” Mike pulled her sleeve to cover her hand and used it pull Avery away from the heated Roz. “You're not helping!” The farther Avery got from his sister the better he felt. Bea hadn't picked up on any sign on anger or distress. 

“Let's change before we head upstairs.” Mike suggested opening the door for Avery to enter. He headed directly to the locker where he kept his clothing. The group changed in silence. Avery kept his space from Roz, he didn't know what her deal was. She had always been understanding of people's problems, she knew his situation. She knew he still didn't have complete control. It wasn't like her to blow up on him, he didn't like it.

 

“Dianna for sure.” Avery was the first to speak. The five hunters sat in a circle in the viewing room. Underneath them the contestants and visiting hunters mingled and talked among themselves. “She showed some real…”

“I don’t know.” Roz cut him off. She didn’t look at him she was flipping through the contestants’ bios. “I feel like she’s all looks but won’t cut it in the end.”

“She was the only one who caught a flag during this last test.” Avery defended.

“Because nobody was paying attention.” She bit back. She was doing it again. That anger she held especially for him. This wasn’t the Roz he remembered, this wasn’t the Roz he wanted to be around.

He leaned forward aggressively keeping eye contact. “She saw a chance and she took it, in a real hunt that could make the difference between life and death.” Roz lifted an eyebrow unimpressed. “We all know that. I vote for Dianna.” Roz didn’t speak turning to look at the others.

“I agree with him.” Bea said quietly. She wanted to be on Roz’s good side but she felt her brother had a strong point. “She was good in combat and she was one of the most composed during questioning, we need that in the ranks.” Roz nodded at the Latina hunter considering her opinion. The difference in which Roz treated his opinion versus Bea’s pissed Avery off. He leaned back in his seat angrily, he was tired of her attitude. Usually he would want to sit down with her and talk it out but at this point he just wanted to leave Chicago to no longer deal with her. 

“Anyone else want to chime in on Dianna?” Roz asked looking to Mike and Rei.

“I say yes.” Mike whispered. She had picked up on the tension between the two Bishops’s but she initially had agreed with Avery. 

“Majority wins.” Roz said pulling the Russian hunter’s bio out of the small stack of papers and laying it on the small table in the middle of them.

“Anyone else anyone here wants to speak of?” Roz spread the bios in her hand so that the remaining four contestants were visible to the others in the circle. 

“Mosi,” Rei said pointing to the Kenyan male’s bio. “I felt he gave us a hard time out there.” He nodded to Avery. Both of them had gone one on one with the Kenyan hunter and he proved to be a threat to them. 

“Yeah he was really pissing me off out there.” Avery nodded at the picture. “Not the only thing pissing me off today.” He mumbled glaring at his sister. 

“He’s fast and strong and seems like he could be a good leader in a group.” Bea added. 

“I didn’t pay much attention to him honestly so I don’t know.” Mike said looking over the bio.

“Yeah you were focused on Maja.” Rei sneered at his sister. Mike crossed her arms rolling her eyes at his comment. They both knew that she was being influenced by Avery’s siren powers. She couldn’t be held completely responsible for that. 

“I like him.” Roz said putting Mosi’s bio on the table. “Two down one to go.” 

“Issa, Maja, or Harold…” Bea said studying the papers. “They all stood out in different aspects, they all have potential.” 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The top five ranked stood at their table in the ballroom. The room was silent awaiting for Roz to speak. They had spent over an hour deliberating the last spot of the twelve. Some of the tables in the ball room had been moved around to accommodate the ceremony. Directly in front of the top five’s table were three tables. One table had the Cruz twins, another had the Santiago brother. In between them was a table with three empty chairs, this was where the three chosen contestants would be seated to complete the new Deadly Dozen. Avery stood waiting for his sister to finish her speech. It was similar to the opening speech she had done the morning before. The only people that were paying attention were the contestants, everyone else could have cared less to hear the words they had heard multiple times. Everyone was thankful when she finished, people just wanted to know who had made the ranks. She took out a piece of paper where the names were written in order of where they had ranked. 

“Mosi Yego, rank 10.” She read smiling down to the Kenyan hunter. Mosi smiled brightly as he approached the first chair at the table. He was the new 10th ranked in the elite group of hunters. His face was cheerful as he turned to face the other hunters. “Dianna Schpak, rank 11.” Roz continued. The blonde Russian took a sigh of relief and moved towards the next open seat. She and Mosi embraced in a tight hug celebrating their achievement. Mike sighed anxiously besides Avery. He felt her emotions creeping towards him. He reached out taking her hand and squeezing it gently. She took a deep breath and leaned into his arm. Roz looked out to the remaining contestants and read the last name. “Maja Patil, rank 12.” The room stood silent at the announcement. No one had thought that the Hindi hunter would make it. It was rare for siblings who competed together to only have one join the ranks. Either they both did or neither did. But since the council decided to change traditions so did the top five ranked. Brother included or not Maja was in the Deadly Dozen. Maja was as shocked at the rest of the room. She stood slowly looking to Mike who was still holding on to Avery’s hand. The Hindi hunter had assumed that the Japanese femme fatale would drop dead before she was allowed to join the Deadly Dozen. She nodded to Mike before she moved towards the last seat at the front of the room. Dianna smiled at her excitedly and pulled her into a hug, Mosi did the same. “Congratulations.” Roz said to the three of them. “You are now part of the Deadly Dozen.” The room erupted in applause for the three new members of the elite. Avery spotted the Battaligna’s near the back. They were the applauding the least enthusiastically. Avery figured that they were less than happy with more women in the joining the group, especially when they were replacing their son’s. Avery had no time to spend thinking about their hurt feelings. He just wanted the whole thing to be over so he could return to Clear Waters and forget about these people for another year. He just had to deal with a few more hours of celebration and he and Mike could leave the next afternoon and be home by the evening. 

After the applause the three new contestants were hurried away for photographs. They were to have their own portraits as well as a group photograph to commemorate the new Deadly Dozen class. It had been a few years since there had been a new group photo taken. Avery sat next to his sister in the center of the photo. The two smiled for the camera but didn’t interact with each other. Mike sat next her brother in the front row. Maja stood behind her, neither of them was happy about it. 

“I’m not sure what power play you were trying to make by allowing me to join the ranks.” Maja whispered through her smile. She stood next to Dianna who was busy speaking to Mosi.

“I’m not making a power play, unlike you I’m not vindictive.” Mike gritted adjusting her hair. She pulled the train on her pants to lay across her lap. “I wasn’t about to let a minor rivalry stop me from doing what I need to do.” She smiled giving the camera a three-quarter profile. “You were the best, so we chose you.” Maja didn’t answer, she had nothing to say. She was shocked at Mike’s words. She thought for second smiling stiffly for the camera.

“Thank you.” She muttered stumped with words. They continued to take photographs until the council was happy with the shots that they saw.


	8. Jealousy games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avery and mike return home, things get complicated.

Chapter 7 Jealousy Games

Brooks had not spoken to Wren since that morning. It had all been a mistake. He had let himself give into his desires and next thing he knew they both woke up in a tangle of limbs on the office floor. He had done it out of spite. He had done it to get back at Avery, which was worse than just doing it for fun. He felt his heart drop when he saw the message from the siren, his sudden panic was what woke Wren up. She smiled at him when she saw him. He pulled away from her and rushed out of the office to put as much space between them as possible. He felt dirty. He felt disgusted with himself. He felt wrong. Wren followed him through the restaurant as the two put their clothing back on asking what had happened. He felt her distress when he asked her to stay on the other side of the room. He asked her to leave without an explanation. He waited until the beautiful brunette drove away before he left the building himself. It was a chilly morning, he reached for Avery’s cardigan to put it on but he didn’t want to sully it with what he had done the night before. The events from the night before replayed in his mind over and over throughout the day, each replay felt worse than the last. He had screwed things up between him and Avery. He had ruined the new life he had just started to build. There was no way that Avery would want to stay in the same house as him anymore. He had to figure out a way to fix it. He needed to keep it under wraps until he figured out what to do. If Avery found out that he had slept with Wren there was no way that the two packs could possibly get along without tension between them. 

The wolf rushed home and locked himself in the house. He ran straight into the shower in the basement, he needed to wash the scent of Wren off of him. Avery’s siren powers were getting stronger and stronger every day, scent was the strongest of the five senses. He scrubbed and scrubbed until his skin felt raw, it healed instantly, but he still felt wrong. He washed his clothing when he finally felt like he got her scent off of his skin. The quiet in the house was killing him. Every bug in the bushes outside was audible, disturbing his thoughts. Being in the house felt wrong, like he didn’t belong there. Like he didn’t deserve to belong there. He read Avery’s message over and over, the words became meaningless after a while. He wanted to message him back but he had no idea what he could possibly say. It was best for him to stay away from people for a while, he decided to sit and wait for Avery and Mike to return. 

Wren called and texted him several times. Each message was deleted immediately without it being read or listened to. He had no intention of speaking to her for the time being. He didn’t want Avery to catch on, he didn’t want to lead her on in believing that something was going to happen between the two of them. His plan worked, until the evening when Wren showed up at the door. He had spent the majority of the time on the couch trying to keep his attention on the television. He couldn’t recall what shows he had watched. He heard her steps before he heard her knocking lightly on the door. The scent of her nervousness travelled through the door before he even entered the foyer leading to it. The sun setting behind her made her shadow a perfect silhouette of her profile. Brooks questioned whether he should open the door or not. Maybe if he ignored it long enough she would leave, she would be able to hear him, but that fact would probably work in his favor. 

“Brooks,” She called out to him from the other side. Brooks stood still resisting the urge to open the door. It was not Wren’s fault that all of this happened, it was not her fault that he never mentioned that he and Avery were kind of together. “Brooks, can we talk.” She pleaded waiting for a response from the blonde inside. The floor boards on the porch creaked slightly when she shifted her weight. “I’m sorry, okay?” She was apologizing and she had no idea why. She figured she had done something wrong, she didn’t have much experience with relationships or whatever this was. Relationships was not easy for any supernatural creature living in the normal world, which was why she was so interested in Brooks. With another werewolf she wouldn’t have to hide herself or her abilities that came from being a werewolf. “I don’t know what happened this morning and I feel really bad about it.” She knew he was on the other side but she would much rather talk to his face and not the door of his house. “Okay.” She sighed softly turning on her heels. 

The doorknob turned slowly. Wren turned to see how far the door would be opened for her. “Can we just talk?” She whispered not moving. She felt like she was speaking to a scared animal. He had opened the door enough for her to see him but his hand remained firmly on the doorknob, she wasn’t getting in. 

“What we did was a mistake.” He said before she could say anything else. The regret in his voice hit her hard. “I shouldn’t have let things get as far as they did.” His hold on the doorknob was still firm. 

“I don’t understand.” She responded. “I thought we kind of hit it off.” She smiled meekly at him. From what she remembered they were both into what had happened. They stood in silence, neither sure of what to say, or rather what not to say. She shifted on her feet awkwardly stumbling a few steps back. He noticed it. He hadn’t known her long but every other time she moved she had grace and elegance about her limbs. He caused her to lose the poise in her movements. 

“I have someone.” He whispered. It was quiet and full of shame but she heard it, she felt it. “And they wouldn’t like us doing this.”

“I thought you said you were unsure of where you and this someone stood?” She repeated his words from the day before. “I mean that sounds like a pretty open ended type of relationship.”

“I just don’t want to ruin things before they really get started.” He admitted. “I’ve spent a lot of time with him and I think we could work well together as a couple.”

“Him?” She asked. Great he had slipped up. “Is it Avery?” She asked. “The siren?” She fidgeted with her car keys, the clinking the only sound besides the crickets in the bushes. 

“So how is this going to work then?” She moved her hand in a wide circle. She was motioning to the two groups living in Clear Waters. Her pack and Brooks’s group were going to be intermingling whether they liked it or not. “I mean we are already starting on the wrong foot.” She doubted that Avery would like her getting into his and Brooks’s wishy-washy relationship. “I mean, I haven’t even met the guy and we are already competing for the same wolf.” She pointed at Brooks, her heart rate was rising. She was angry, Brooks had lied to her. “I mean you made me the other woman in a gay relationship.” She crossed her arms glaring at him.

“Bisexual relationship technically.” It was the only response that he had. Before he and Avery had their thing they had both only been into girls. Well aside from Flo, Avery hadn’t really been into anybody.

“Whatever. Can we please just talk it out?” She asked. “I really don’t want our two groups to be fighting each other and those things in the woods simultaneously.” She ran her hand through her dark hair taking a deep breath. She knew her sister Ivy would hold something like this against her. “I can’t believe I’m saying this,” She gritted through her teeth. “But maybe we can come up with a way to hide this from him,” She hated herself the moment she finished her statement. She had never thought she would be in some love triangle like this, least of all helping the adulterous person in the middle. “If he doesn’t know it won’t hurt him right?” Brooks nodded in response his hand finally releasing the doorknob. “Then we can pretend that this never happened.” She opened the door the rest of the way and walked inside. The house was beautiful, large, and historical, she would have usually asked for a tour but this was not the time. Brooks closed the door behind her enclosing himself to distinguish the scent of her anger and hurt at what they were doing. He led her into the living room.

.................................................................................................................................…………………………………….

“I don’t know.” Avery said driving down the gravel road towards their home. “I mean being apart from him made me realize how I feel about him.” He smiled when the house came into view. It had been over three days since he had seen Brooks. It should have been four but he could not stand to stay in Chicago a day longer, neither could Mike. Their siblings were driving them crazy, they were different and condescending. Roz was angry at her brother, and nobody was sure why. All she did was undermine his opinions and thoughts. He had hoped that their reunion would be a bit more loving, clearly she had a different idea. Being around all of the hunters who disliked him made him realize how loving the werewolf was and how great the two of them were together. He had in Brooks what he had wanted all along, someone caring, understanding, protective, someone who loved him. 

“So you're just going to push all your doubts about your siren aside?” She asked sending her parents a text message that they had arrived back in Clear Waters. She immediately turned the phone off and put it back in her bag. They rarely used the phone, it was the one thing connecting them with hunters back in Japan and Chicago. Most days it would sit in the living room under a floorboard underneath the sofa. They were doing all that they could to keep themselves separated from the rest of the hunting world. At least until Avery learned to control his powers. 

“I mean even in a non-supernatural type of relationship you'd have these type of doubts right?” He asked turning into their long drive way. They loved living separated from the majority of their town. The only downside was how long it took them to get home at the end of the day. 

“That’s true.” She pondered about the few times she had thought she was in an uncertain situation like Avery’s, the only thing she could do was give it a try. “Just dive in and hope for the best.” They had almost arrived. 

Avery smiled at her words. “I think I already have the best.” He admitted. He wasn't the type to talk like that, he hated lovey-dovey mushy stuff. “All I gotta do is dive in.” He set the car in park, they were finally home. They had only been in Clear Waters for a few months but it already felt like home. Being back in Chicago made them realize that. Being out on their own had changed them, had changed the way they viewed the world. Neither of the young hunters had ever imagined calling a place outside of where they grew up home but there they were. Avery opened the trunk of the car so that they could carry their bags in. They were coming home with less luggage than they left with. They left all of their formal clothing back in Chicago where they knew it would be stored in Avery’s childhood room. 

“Let's rest for a couple of hours then we can check on the restaurant before lunch.” Mike said pulling her bag over her shoulder. The other Hunter nodded in agreement closing the trunk. They had taken a red-eye back home being unable to wait to distance themselves from their old life. The initiation process was over and they were no longer needed around, they figured they would save everyone involved the agony of awkward time together. Mike drew her keys from her jacket pocket and opened the door. Even holding the keys in her hand felt more natural than anything back in Chicago. 

The click of the lock welcomed them home after a stressful few days. The house was silent, made sense since it was only seven in the morning. The two walked in inhaling the familiar scent they had grown accustomed to, it was a mixture of the fresh air from the woods and the scented candles they always had lit. Avery left his bag on the nearest seat in the parlor room and dragged his feet towards the kitchen, he was thirsty, he was hungry, and he was tired. 

He saw the top of Brooks’s head sleeping on the couch in the living room. He had missed that blonde scruff. He smiled at the sight of the burly wolf curled up on the large sectional sofa. Brooks was using one of his cardigans as a pillow, the white cardigan he had lent him the night before he left for Chicago. His face buried in it, one of his hands tangled in it tightly. The siren laughed softly and lightly stepped closer to cover the wolf with one of the many throw blankets that Mike had forced them to buy. Mike had always dreamed of having a cozy home, blankets were apparently a must for that. Then he saw her. A brunette woman was sleeping with Brooks, her arms wrapped around the wolf’s lower half. She was holding Brooks the way Brooks held the cardigan. Avery had stopped at the sight, he didn't know what it was or why, nonetheless his heart sank to the pit of his stomach. They didn't know anybody in town, or at least he had thought that they didn't. Brooks twitched as if he felt the change Avery’s heartbeat, he recognized it without even seeing the younger man. The wolf opened his eyes groggily squinting when he saw the siren in front of him. 

“Avery.” He mumbled, voice heavy with sleepiness. 

“What?” Wren answered just as groggy. Her voice shook Brooks out of his wooziness. Avery stood motionless, his face was confused but the wolf could already smell the hurt creeping over the hunter. Brooks stood up frantically from his position on the couch pushing Wren away from him in the process. The abrupt movement startled Avery, he jerked back a step.

“Brooks what the…” Avery said softly looking at Wren. Brooks had left her halfway on the floor when he moved. Avery walked towards the girl he threw the blanket on the couch and helped her up. “Are you okay?” He asked her even though he was looking at Brooks in confusion. The wolf was not looking him in the eye. Eye contact was a big deal to Brooks. Even without his siren powers the guilt from Brooks and the brunette was palpable to Avery. He wasn’t sure how to take, naturally his mind was choosing the worse possible option. 

“I'm fine.” The girl said meekly looking down as Avery helped her up. Avery? Brooks had said Avery, the siren. She was rigid at his touch, he pulled away the moment she was standing again. She adjusted her clothing awkwardly, she had never met a siren but she knew that their powers ran on emotion, she could scent the emotions in the room. The three stood in silence for a few seconds looking at each other, the seconds felt like hours. “I was actually just leaving.” She said looking around the room, she hadn’t brought anything with her so she didn’t know what she was looking for. Nerves made her do weird things. She looked to Brooks hoping he would say or do something but he kept his eye towards Avery. Avery felt their panic the longer they stood there, it was strong, and it was making him feel uncomfortable and clammy. 

“But you were sleeping.” The siren said puzzled pointing to the sectional sofa. His siren powers had grown to the point that he could spot a lie, he could sense it. He was standing in between the two others. Waves of uneasiness washing over him from both sides. He could feel himself breathing harder, it was from their panic. Dancing green mists of light started swirling around the two others. Emotions and auras came to the siren as colored mists that danced around the people feeling them. Avery had no control yet over when he could see them. The dancing mists were green. Green meant bad, jealousy, greed, guilt, envy. “Brooks what going on?” He asked the wolf looking back to him. He wanted to give the blonde a chance to enlighten him on the situation. Brooks stammered incoherently but never gave a clear response. That was not good. It wasn't like Brooks to be speechless, he was the most-composed one of the group. He always had an answer. There was only one thing that came to Avery’s mind from the way the two were acting. He looked to the brunette, she hadn't moved from where he had left her. She looked to Brooks as if he would provide her with words. The panic was rising, the guilt was fogging up any other emotion Avery could feel. “Oh.” Avery said softly looking away from Brooks and down to his hands. The realization hit him like a freight train, and it left him bleeding on the floor to die. He could feel the lump in his throat, his eyes were starting to burn. He didn't want to cry there, not in front of her-whoever the hell she was. He wanted to leave but couldn't, he was still desperately hoping that Brooks would interrupt it all with an explanation. 

“I'm sorry.” The girl said quickly before heading to the door. Her words sounded sincere which made it worse. The two men stood in silence listening to her steps followed by the door closing. Had Avery been right all along? Was Brooks was attracted to his powers and not to him? He forced himself to look up at the wolf’s face still waiting for that explanation that would make all of this go away, but it never came. His doubts about the two of them were correct, he hated himself for letting his guard down with Brooks. Perfect way to end his weekend.

“I see.” Avery forced a smile, he didn't know what else to do. The only thing he could think of was to keep his emotions inside. No matter what happened he always pretended to be fine, that was his thing.

“Who the hell was that?” Mike asked walking into the living room pointing to the door. She stopped mid-stride when she saw the two men, she didn't know what was going on but it was not good. 

“Avery,” Brooks began, his voice was gritty and painful to listen to. “I'm so sor…”

“Don't be.” The siren interjected. Brooks could smell the pain flowing from Avery, it was slowly turning into anger. Avery pursed his lips into an agonizing smile. “It's not like we were together, right?” He forced out a chuckle before turning to leave the room. He needed to put distance between the wolf and himself before the guilt and anger that was growing made him do or say something he'd regret. Brooks stood in silence as the brunette male left. Had he done it? Had he destroyed what the two of them could have had?

“What the hell is going on?” Mike asked from the entrance of the room. The wolf listened to Avery's steps going up the stairs, they were heavy and slow. The sound of his steps stopped for a second, Brooks figured that Avery had reached the middle of the stairs, where they had hung a picture of the three of them. Brooks walked to the bottom of the stairs. He looked up at the siren hoping that he had decided to come down to him. 

“Avery.” He called to him. Avery froze in place but he didn’t turn back to look at the wolf. The siren’s heart sped up, the wolf didn’t know if it was good or bad. “Please,” He wanted to say more to the brunette but didn’t say anything after that. He didn’t know what to say. In all honesty there was nothing he could say to explain himself that wouldn’t further hurt the siren. He heard the unhappy sigh that Avery exhausted before he continued ascending to the second story. He stood at the bottom of the stairs listening to Avery’s steps. He heard the door to Avery’s room close.

The rest of the morning was quiet. Avery didn’t leave his room. Mike decided to stay out of the whole situation. She knew getting involved would mean that she ultimately would be picking a side. She wasn’t prepared to make things worse. Brooks stood at Avery’s door hesitant to knock on the door. He didn’t know what he would say to the other male, he had not excuse to give. He could only give an apology, which he didn’t know if that was good enough. He lay his head against the door taking a deep breath. He could hear Avery’s heartbeat, it was soft and even. He must have been sleeping. Emotional events tended to wipeout the siren’s energy especially negative emotions. He spent the rest of the afternoon in the living room watching the stairs hoping that the siren would come down so that they could talk. It was after 3 P.M. when Avery finally came out of his room. His clothes were wrinkled, he had been in his bed the entire time. His hair was tangled. His face looked puffy and tired. He walked past the living room and straight into the kitchen. The wolf found him standing at the sink wiping a wet paper towel over his face. 

“Avery.” Brooks said quietly from the archway. He had had hours to think over things and he still didn’t know what he could possibly say to the other man. Avery didn’t respond, he turned opening several cupboards taking a cup and plate out setting them on the counter. “Can we please talk?” Brooks took a small step forward into the kitchen. 

“There is not much to talk about.” Avery responded in a raspy voice. “She’s pretty.” He added after a second. He was bitter about it but he wasn’t lying. He opened the fridge and started taking things out to make a sandwich. Cheese, ham, bread, vegetables. The room was filled only by the sounds of the plastic bags they were encased in ruffling.

“You don’t really think that.”

“Then what do I think?” Avery asked closing the door. He set the mayonnaise down loudly unto the counter and turned to look at the wolf. “Hmm?” He waited a response. Brooks looked down at the ground. There was no way he was winning this fight. He didn’t even want to be in this fight. He didn’t want to win this fight, he wanted to win Avery back. “What am I supposed to think?” Avery whispered angrily. He was aware that Mike was in the library down the hall, he didn’t want her to hear. He didn’t want to drag her into it, it nothing to do with her to begin with. He didn’t have to speak any louder for Brooks to pick up on his anger and sadness.

“I just want a chance to explain.” He took a stool and sat at the table. He needed Avery and himself to be as calm as possible. “I was really confused and…”

“Confused about what?” Avery had turned back to making his lunch. The muscles in his back were tense, Brooks could see them through his shirt.

“Honestly, us.” Brooks admitted. He felt relief finally saying something he had been thinking for a few months. “You were so hot and cold about everything that I,”

“You should have talked to me.” Avery interrupted softly. “I know I was distant because of my uncertainties about my powers.” He stopped and took a deep breath. Deep down he knew Brooks had a point. “If you wanted to see others I would have understood.” His heart jumped at that. The wolf knew that the siren’s words were not entirely true. “It would have hurt regardless, but I would have let you do it to be happy.” The sadness in Avery was overpowering the anger. The siren blinked rapidly trying to keep his tear at bay.

“I was happy with you.” Brooks responded. He had never wanted to be with anyone besides Avery. 

“People don’t do this when they are happy.” Avery said turning back to him. “Something like this never crossed my mind.” 

Brooks narrowed his eyes at the siren. People were constantly throwing themselves at Avery, there was no way he didn’t notice it.

“Then what about Florence?” Brooks asked. He didn’t believe that Avery had never thought about anyone else. 

“What about Florence?” He asked. Did Brooks really think playing the blame game would get him anywhere? 

“You honestly expect me to believe that you didn’t attempt to rehash things with her while in Chicago?” Brooks saw how tightly the brunette was holding the utensils in his hands.

“She thinks I murdered her brother,” Avery snapped tossing the knife in his hands into the sink. It made a loud clanking. “So excuse me for trying to convince her otherwise, I have no interest in her like that!” Avery’s voice was bitter, it didn’t surprise Brook. He placed the plate on the table and sat across from the blonde. 

“What about the cop lady?” Brooks asked digging for the card Avery had given Harley. He slid it across the table.

“I invited Harley to the restaurant, not into my bed.” Avery bit out. 

“Harley?” Brooks raised an eyebrow. “She seems very interested in you.”

“I’m a siren, it is what sirens do whether we want to or not.” He took a bite from his sandwich glaring at the wolf. It had been a while since Brooks had seen that glare directed at him. Brooks didn’t respond. “Jerilyn is interested in me too, should I stop talking to her?” Avery’s word were quick and spiteful. Each word felt like he had directed a bullet at the wolf. Brooks was surprised, he thought that the younger man had been oblivious to the southern belle’s attention.

“That’s not what I’m saying.”

“That what it sounds like.” Avery snapped. “Like you did it to get back at me.” He pushed the plate away. The arguing was making him less and less hungry. 

“I…”

“Like you did it to hurt me.” The siren’s face flinched with pain. “Because you were already convinced that I would do that to you.” His words slowed down as he spoke, like he had figured out a puzzle and he was putting the pieces together. Brooks looked away from him. “Well you did it.” Avery laughed coldly. “You hurt me.” Tears started to well up in his brown eyes, he no longer tried to hide them from the blonde. “You won this fight.” He whispered his voice short and breathy. Brooks hated himself. How could he have done this? He let his insecurities get the best of him and he hurt the one person he had wanted to protect. The two men sat in silence not looking at each other.

“There is someone here.” Mike said walking past them in the hallway. She tucked a small knife into the back of her skirt. They didn’t get many visitors. They didn’t know anybody in town besides their employees at the restaurant. She opened the linen closet at the bottom of the stairs and took out a small stash of weapons. They had weapons all over the house. Hunters could not afford to let their guard down even in their own home. Avery wiped his eyes and walked over to Mike to arm himself. She handed him his throwing knives which he hid throughout his body. Brook recognized the car. It was Wren’s. He knew that this moment would be happening, he had just hoped it would be another day or so.

“It’s the local pack.” Brooks said approaching them. “They are no threat.”

“What do they want?” Mike asked.

“To meet the newly arrived siren.” He looked at Avery. 

“Do they know where Mike and I come from?” Avery sniffled continuing to arm himself. Just because the local pack didn’t seem like a threat it didn’t mean that they weren’t. Brooks shook his head. “Until then, there is no way that we can be allies.” He said. “So if we are to meet them, we will be prepared.” He nodded to Mike ordering her to continue to add weapons. 

“I think I’m good.” Mike said smoothing out her clothing to hide the weapons. Avery nodded doing the same. “Let’s go meet the pack.” She sighed. Both men picked up on her uneasiness, this could go very, very badly. Avery took her hand smiling at her. 

“It’s gonna be fine.” He assured her, he pulled her towards the door with him.

“Guys wait,” Brooks reached out tugging on Avery’s other arm. The younger man pulled away from him harshly glaring back at him. He let go of Mike and crowded the wolf’s space.

“Don’t touch me!” He hissed, his eyes dark and angry. “You don’t get to do that anymore!” Brooks watched in shock as the hunter walked away from him. Mike stood watching, mouth agape as Avery moved past her. “Let’s go!” He ordered before opening the door and walking out. Avery watched as five figures approached his home. The pretty brunette girl from that morning among them. Seeing her again brought back all of the emotions from the entire day. It didn’t make it any better that he now knew she was a werewolf. Somehow it made it worse to know that Brooks had betrayed him with another wolf. His anger was simmering beneath his emotionless face as he watched the pack move in unison. He could see their auras beginning to twinkle around them. They were orange in hue for the most part with different colors mixed in each one. They were all on edge, cautious to what he might do. 

“Avery?” The female leading the group asked. Her curly hair bounced as she stepped closer to him. The orange lights swirled around her lazily. Avery nodded silently. He felt Mike and Brooks exiting the door and standing behind him. “Brooks.” The curly haired wolf greeted smiling. 

“Ivy.” Brooks greeted from the porch. “She’s the alpha of this pack.” He said to two hunters. 

“Ivy.” Avery repeated in greeting. “Nice to meet you.” Ivy slowed her steps just enough for Avery to notice. She probably had expected his voice to affect her somehow. Like he just ran around using his powers whenever he wanted. According to Brooks he might as well have done that.

“This is my sister Wren.” Ivy pointed to the pretty brunette. “Robin,” She pointed to a tall, buff, dark skinned man. “Stormy and Shiloh.” She turned to the other side pointed to the small redheaded female and surfer blonde male. Avery studied the pack, aside from Robin he could easily read the other’s faces. He could sense their uneasiness, at least they were all on the same page. Robin’s face was stoic but his aura was unhide-able to a siren. He was scared.

“This is Mike.” He nodded to the short blonde behind him. “And of course you already know Brooks.” He looked directly at Wren. Wren fidgeted with the hem of her blouse avoiding eye contact. Even being upwind from her Avery could smell the shame on her. The nonverbal exchange didn’t fly past Ivy’s radar unnoticed. She looked over her sister in question but Wren didn’t respond. “Heard you wanted to get to know the new siren in town.”

“We just want to make sure that there is no ill intent from your side.” Ivy explained.

“Why would we want that in the town we call home?” The siren responded. “We have no intention of hurting anyone, unless it’s in self-defense.” Ivy nodded glad to hear that response.

“If we work together then we can make sure that that doesn’t happen to anyone.” Mike cut in from behind Avery. Ivy turned her attention to the Japanese girl, she stared at her as if reading her thoughts. 

“Wolf, Siren, and…?” She paused waiting for Mike to fill in the blank with an answer.

“Friend.” Avery interrupted. “She’s my friend, she help me through the process of figuring out what I am.”

“But I thought Sirens were born not turned?” Robin said his deep voice strong and loud.

“But they can be hidden.” Ivy responded before Avery could. “Talisman, spells, potions, they can all be used to keep a siren dormant.” She explained. “But why?”

Avery shrugged. “It made it easier for the adoption process I guess.” He half lied. “Who would want to adopt a child with weird powers?” 

“So you’re new to your abilities?” Wren asked from behind her sister. 

“About a year or so.” Brooks said. Avery side-eyed the wolf. He could answer his own questions.

“Relatively knew but strong.” He added.

“No doubt.” Ivy said. “My pack members would have never sensed your presence if you weren’t…” She explained. “Or at least sensed your activities.”

“Activities?” Avery asked confused. He had not used his powers in any major ways.

“Whenever you use your powers it leaves a small power surge, which we can sense if we are close enough.” Ivy explained. “The power of your abilities allowed us to sense it even without meeting you.”

“Is that how werewolves can sense each other?” Mike asked. The alpha nodded.

“Most supernatural creatures honestly.” Robin said looking over Mike. He had a predatory look on his face. “Do you think it's safe to keep a human near you in a world like this?”

“I can defend myself just fine.” Mike interrupted her voice laced in annoyance. It was bad enough that the human world underestimated her, now the damn wolves. 

“She can handle more than you can imagine.” Avery backed her up. “I've helped her learn.” It's wasn't entirely a lie, he had taught her a few things but everything she knew came from her family. But Mike knew that they had to act as if he did to avoid a Hunter/wolf war to start because of her. 

“We were meeting at the bar down past Main Street later tonight around seven.” Ivy announced changing the subject. “I would like it if your group joined us for drink and dinner.” Brooks tensed at the thought but Avery ignored it. “I think we need to get to know each other in order to coexist.”

“Ivy they just got back from a trip this morning maybe we should give them a day or two…” It was Wren who interrupted her sister.

“We’ll be there.” Avery spoke over her. He didn't care what she had to say, it didn't matter. “Can't wait.” The siren forced a smile turning back into his home. Mike followed closely. 

“Avery, I don't think going out with them is a good idea right now.” Brooks said following him up the stairs.

“You don't have to go if you don't want to, Brooks.” The siren kept his eyes forward ignoring the wolf’s pleads for conversation. “Besides this has nothing to do with you, it's just business.” Since when was this not Brooks’s business? He was a part of the group too. Avery stopped and looked down the steps at Mike. “Please be ready by 6:30 P.M.” He quickly looked to Brooks wordlessly telling him he expected the same before heading back into his room.


	9. Cold shoulder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group of hunters meets with the werewolves. Things seem to go along fine until something happens to change that.

Chapter 8 Cold Shoulder

The bar was empty as usual. Only a few people littered throughout the floor. Mostly after work crowd stopping by to de-stress themselves and eat snacks with friends. Avery walked ahead of the other two as they walked past the bar and towards the spiral stairs leading to the pool room. He didn’t stop to look back to make sure the other two weren’t too far out of reach. He always checked on them, he always made sure they were okay. But not that night. He had been cold and distant the entire day. It was unusual for him to not dote on the others, it was in his nature. It was his role in the group, he was the leader, the caretaker. Now he was just their leader. Everything he said to them was an order. Mike did as he asked because she knew that this would all pass. Brooks did what he said because he wanted to fix everything in any way that he could. Ruining things with Avery, he could lose more than just the relationship, he could lose his new home, his new life, his new family. 

Avery walked straight to the back of the room when he spotted the pack standing around the farthest pool table. They had moved two of the small circular tables together and placed enough chairs for them all to sit in. Robin was the first to notice the three of them. He gave the smallest hint of a smile at the group. It was the first emotion he had showed since Brooks had met him. 

“Avery.” Ivy smiled approaching him. “I’m so glad you could make it.” She walked with a regal energy. She held her hands out to him. It was formal and neutral. Even in the supernatural world there was rules and expectations. Avery was to treat any civilized leader of a supernatural group as he would any hunter. Most major fights were avoided when the two parties spoke in a civil manner. It was the biggest reason why vampires were rarely a problem to the hunting community. Ivy was an alpha, she had invited Avery and his group to neutral ground. As far as Avery was concerned he was meeting with another Royal hunting family. Ivy was most likely treating him the way she would treat any other alpha werewolf.

“Ivy.” The siren smiled and took her hands pulling her into a courteous hug. He leaned down so that they could press their cheeks together as if kissing a friend. He let her go and stepped aside for Mike to do the same. He heard steps approaching from behind him. It was custom to greet the second in command as well. Mike was his second in command. 

“Avery.” It was Wren, she was Ivy’s beta. Now he had to pretend to be friendly with her.

“Wren.” He smiled. From her body language it was clear that she was not looking forward to the embrace either. She put her hands out for him to hold and waited. He pulled her into a tense hug. He knew it was unfair for him to be angry with her, Brooks had made the conscious choice not her, but he was only human. She smelled lovely, like wild flowers, he had never hated flowers so much. He pulled away still forcing a smile and letting Mike step into his place. Avery took another step back bumping into Brooks. He quickly moved away from the wolf and towards the alpha in front of him. He saw the hurt in Brooks’s expression from the corner of his eyes. 

“Shall we?” Avery asked wrapping his arm around Ivy’s and leading her back to the table she had set up for them. 

“I hope you don’t mind but we already ordered the first round.” The alpha said pointing to a bucket filled with ice and about a dozen beers placed inside it. 

“It’s no problem.” Avery smiled nodding to the other three wolves. “Robin.” He reached out and shook the dark skinned wolf’s hand. There was not many people that Avery had met that could make him feel small, but Robin definitely did. Even the size of his hands were intimidating to the hunter. “Stormy.” He reached out and took the tiny redhead’s hand kissing it lightly. She blushed at the gesture and hid her smile when he let go of her hand. “And…” He reached out to the tan skinned blonde. “I’m sorry but I forgot.” He smiled. It was a lie, he knew that the wolf’s name was Shiloh, he just didn’t like him. He had decided from the moment that he saw the surfer type blonde that he disliked him.

“Shiloh.” The blonde provided shaking his hand. Avery smiled at the blonde but mostly to himself. The wolf had fallen into his power play. That’s really what the whole thing was about. He needed the wolf to feel inferior to him. That way if things went wrong with the pack then he had a weak link to attack them through. He honestly hoped that things wouldn’t reach that point, but having a plan b was always a good idea. Ivy eyed him as he stepped away from her pack. She caught the subtle lie but decided to let it go. Avery looked over the beer in the ice deciding which one to grab. None of them were open, it was a custom. When meeting with other groups in the supernatural community food is not to be opened whenever possible, less poisonings that way. So far it had not been a problem but one could never be too safe. The pack had ordered different kinds of beers, none that he could recognize, he wasn’t a beer drinker but he didn’t want to turn them down. He noticed the beer that Robin was drinking and took the same kind. It tasted like piss but he did all that he could to keep the disgust off of his face. 

“Not much of a beer drinker huh?” Robin whispered from behind him. Of course the wolf noticed his disgust to the drink. Avery smiled up at the large wolf. Robin was only a couple of inches taller than him but it was still noticeable. 

“Not really.” He admitted, “More of a mixed drink type of guy.”

“I can go down stairs and get you another drink.” Robin suggested setting his drink down.

“Oh no no.” Avery laughed placing his hand on the wolf’s bicep to stop him. “This is fine.” The wolf nodded taking his seat again. He pulled a seat out for Avery to take next to him.

“So where are you guys from?” He asked. 

“I’m from Illinois.” Avery said giving the room a quick scan. Mike stood in a group with Wren and Stormy. They were all looking closely at the redhead’s hair. “You?” He saw Brooks standing with Ivy and Shiloh pretending to pay attention to what they were saying. The blonde wolf’s eyes were partially on the siren.

“Georgia.” Robin said in his deep rumble of a voice. “Your boyfriend doesn’t seem to like us sitting too closely.” He added nodding to Brooks. Avery was not sure if Brooks had heard it or not past all of the chatter in the room and the music. 

“He’s not my boyfriend.” Avery said looking down at his drink. 

“Too bad for him.” Robin answered smiling. Avery just nodded turning his back towards Brooks giving Robin all of his attention. It was nice talking to someone else. Robin was not showing any signs of attraction towards him which was good, it had been a while since he had spoken to a stranger without that happening. 

The two groups mingled amongst each other for a while. Avery had spoken to all of them except Wren. So far he like them, Robin was good company, he was laid back and calm. Stormy was friendly and cheerful. Shiloh, although dense, was genuine. Ivy was charming and strong, she reminded him of a werewolf Roz, well not the Roz that he dealt with the last few days. Wren was the only one left, the two had watched each other the entire time. Neither knew what to say but they knew that nothing they wanted to say should be said around the others. 

“Avery.” Wren said walking up to him. She held the ice bucket, they had drank all of the beers. “I was about to go get more drinks for us. Do you want to help me?” She was trying to get him alone. He smiled and stood to follow her. It was probably best that they were alone, in case they traded words that were less than friendly. He could feel the other’s eyes on them as they left the room but he chose not to look back at them. “I understand that you don’t want to talk to me,” She said once they reached the bottom of the spiral staircase. “Or even be in the same room as me.” She placed the bucket of ice on the counter and turned to face him leaning on the edge. “But please don’t hold my mistake against my sister and the pack. They had nothing to do with it.” He didn’t respond, he wasn’t sure what to say, aside from the obvious.

“I’m not holding it against them.” He said taking a deep breath. “I’m not even sure I’m holding it against you.” He admitted. “But it’s only been a day so all the emotions are still pretty raw.”

“And I’m sure seeing me is not helping.” She added. He nodded in agreement. They sat in an awkward silence hoping that the bartender would help them next. Any sort of distraction from their silence would help them out.

“Why did you guys show up so soon?” He asked, he figured she would have wanted to give a few days before she had to face him again.

“My sister insisted.” She answered. “She has been sensing some power surge on her alpha radar and she thinks it might be you.” Avery thought over his power usage, he had not thought that he had used that much. “Also she doesn’t know about me and…Brooks.” 

Avery decided to power through the last statement. “I’ve been training my powers, I don’t have a hold on them yet.” He admitted. Aside from the fact that she had slept with his kind-of-boyfriend, Wren was easy to talk to. “I guess I could overuse them sometimes.” 

She shook her head. “No not just the usage of powers.” She explained. “She says she sensed that the power is bad, like controlling or,”

“Manipulative.” He finished her sentence.

“She doesn’t sense any negative vibes from you.”

“So there could be something else in the area manipulating others?” He asked. He noticed the bartender coming up to them. “Just a mixture please.” He said to the bartender. “What could it be?” She shrugged.

“It’s what we are trying to figure out.” She played with a stack of pamphlets on the counter. “Before someone gets seriously hurt. Like those things that chased Brooks and I.”

“What things?” Brooks hadn’t mentioned anything about being chased by anything. 

“He hasn’t told you?”

“We haven’t really spoken since…” He didn’t finish his statement and leaned his head to the side to avoid saying the incident. Wren just nodded and laughed timidly in understanding. “But what things chased you?”

“Your chicken sandwich was better.” He heard the soft, whimsical voice from behind him. Wren looked over his shoulder, it was obvious that she didn’t recognize the person it belonged to. Avery turned to look, it was Harley, the fairy princess. Wren looked at her confused, it was a weird way to start a conversation.

“Harley.” He greeted her with a smile. She moved to stand next to him so they could speak. He looked her over, she was wearing a floral dress. It was the kind of dress he’d expect to see in a 1950s magazine, not in a bar. The dress suited her, she wore it effortlessly. Even with how unexpected the garment was she fit right in, she wore it with confidence. That confidence was what he found the most attractive about her. He remembered that Wren was behind him. “Uh, Wren this is Officer Harley Wilkins.” He introduced them. “Harley this is Wren.” Wren couldn’t hide how surprised she was at hearing Harley was a cop.

“Sorry, I wasn’t interrupting anything was I?” She looked up at him then at Wren with her big blue eyes. She had a look on her face that said please don’t be on a date. Wren shook her head smiling. Harley’s body language went lax. The bartender placed the replenished bucket of ice on the counter. 

“We were actually about to head back upstairs.” Wren said reaching into her pocket.

“You go on upstairs I’ll get this.” Avery said pulling out his wallet. “I was going to order a mixed drink anyways,” He looked down at Harley. “I’d like to catch up with Harley anyways, I’ll meet you in a few minutes.” Wren nodded lifting the giant bucket as if it was nothing and walking back to the spiral staircase.

“She’s strong.” Harley said impressed. “I’ve had to lift one of those it’s not as easy as she makes it look.”

“So you went to the restaurant huh?” He asked leaning on the counter. She nodded smiling widely up at him. He still didn’t understand how someone so sweet looking could withstand the brutal things were experienced with being a cop. “What did you think?”

“It looks much better than when the previous owners operated it. Seems friendlier.” She leaned against the counter opposite of him, their legs almost touching. “I was a bit disappointed that you weren’t there though.” She added shyly playing with the rings on her fingers. Avery had heard somewhere that playing with ring fingers was some sort of Freudian thing. He pushed the thought away, Harley deserved better than that, he WAS better than that.

“Just a little bit?” He asked playfully. She nodded.

“I mean that blonde guy was nice and all but I wanted to talk to you.” She played with the strap on her dress. He followed the movement of her hand his eyes stopping on her clavicle. The skin looked so soft and smooth, she narrowed her eyes at him coyly. Either he had a dirtier mind than usual or she was clearly sending him signals. She giggled bringing her hand to cover her lips.

“I’m sorry.” He said looking away trying to hide the blush covering his face. Harley laughed lightly hitting his arm.

“It’s okay,” She turned to the bartender who had returned to them. “Make it up to me by getting me a drink?” She suggested. Avery nodded turning to the bartender. 

“I’ll take a liquid marijuana and a…”He turned to the fairy princess. She looked over the menu unsure. 

“Liquid marijuana?” She asked confused.

“It’s good.” He reassured nudging her arm. She nodded up at him. “Make that two, please.” Avery said to the bartended. The man turned to gather the ingredients for their drinks.

“You seem a bit more flirtatious than the last time we spoke.” She said placing the menu down on the table. “I thought you kind of had someone?” 

“Oh yeah.” Avery sighed, of course she remembered that. “Turns out I was wrong about that.” He tried to hide the hurt in his face but it was almost impossible. 

“I’m sorry.” She placed her hand on his bicep squeezing it lightly. He must not have hidden it that well. He hummed in response afraid if he spoke his voice might break. “Well I can’t say I’m entirely sorry,” She said after a moment of silence. “Part of me is relieved.” 

“What?” He looked at her confused, he was trying to decide if he should be offended.

She shrugged smiling. “Kinda want you to myself.” She admitted. She opened her mouth to say something else but stopped to look up at him to gauge his reaction. Avery had to laugh at her words. His laughter made her visibly relax.

“You don’t want to be somebody’s rebound.” He opened his wallet again to take out more cash to pay for their drinks. “Even if I am interested.” He hadn't meant to let that second part slip out. He watched her lips part into a wide smile. Clearly she only heard the second part. The bartender placed two vibrant blue-green drinks in front of them.

“We will just have to see about that.” She responded taking one of the drinks and sipping on the straw. “Maybe I’m exactly what you need.” 

“Maybe.” He smiled. He took the second drink sipping from it. He could barely taste the alcohol, even though he knew that there was five different kinds in the mix. He watched her as she drank from her glass, she made a face signaling the drink was good. After the last few days he had had it felt good to have someone like Harley give him some positive attention. He couldn't keep the smile off of his face. The two sat in silence looking at each other. They didn't know what to say, they had just both admitted that they were interested, the drinks made it a little bit easier. He didn’t mind the silence, he could stand there and look at her all night.

“I'd like to see you outside of a bar,” She finally broke the silence. “If that's okay.” She added after a quick thought. “Maybe we could go for s hike or something?”

“The woods out by my place are great for that.” He smiled. 

“You must live past Washington Road then.” She stated as if she could see a town map in her head.

“About ten minutes past that.” He took a pen from the counter and wrote down his address on the back of one of the many flyers on top. “You can meet me there and we can definitely do that.” He handed her the paper. “Maybe Wednesday afternoon?” He suggested. “I'm at the restaurant all day tomorrow.”

“Wednesday sounds great.” She folded the paper and put it in her clutch. “Maybe earlier in the day though?” She looked up at him. He nodded smiling.

“I should get back upstairs though.” He set his drink down and reached out to her. She stepped into his arms hugging him. “We are meeting a group of people for a possible business things.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. But he couldn’t tell her who he was meeting and why. 

“I’ll see you Wednesday.” She said into his chest before letting go. He winked at her before taking his drink and heading up the spiral staircase. He had to stop half way to look back at her, she was still at the bar watching him. They waved at each other before he continued to move up. 

“I was getting worried about you.” Brooks stood at the top step of the stairs looking down at Avery. “I was going to go check on you.” 

“I was fine.” Avery responded walking past him making sure that they didn’t touch shoulders. “Can’t I be alone for five minutes?” He moved towards Mike who was amongst the werewolves.

“Wren said you were talking to some girl.”

“Harley, the policewoman.” He reached the edge of the pool table watching Ivy and Mike up against Robin and Wren. “We were catching up.” 

“She said it seemed like you were flirting.” Brooks whispered standing next to him. 

Avery narrowed his eyes at the blonde. “Am I not allowed to flirt with people?” Brooks looked at him in shock. “I mean clearly we are not together so,” He turned back to the game of pool.

“Avery, I know you’re mad at me but,”

“Oh I’m not mad.” Avery cut him off. It was a lie but he didn’t care. “I’m relieved, now you can pursue whoever you want,” He looked at Wren who was laughing at something with Robin. “And I can pursue something with Harley.” 

“I don’t want to pursue something with anyone else.” Brooks said quietly. 

Avery lifted an eyebrow at him. “Should have thought about that before you went around screwing other people.” 

“She was a mistake.” Brooks spat out, Avery smiled when he sensed the anger coming from the blonde wolf. He was being a bit vindictive, but at least he could admit it.

“Careful Brooks, she might hear you.” The siren sneered taking his drink and sitting with Shiloh and Stormy at the table on the other side of the pool table.

 

The two groups continued mingling. It was surprising how well the two got along. By the time that the two groups headed out of the bar Mike and Stormy had already made plans to go shopping together. Robin had invited Avery to join him during his workouts. The dark skinned wolf had never met another supernatural creature outside of werewolves. He was genuinely interested in how sirens worked compared to wolves, or if they were just like normal humans. So far Avery’s peculiarity piqued his interest. Avery in turn invited the pack to come to the restaurant whenever they wanted. Things looked like they had gone the way that they wanted. The wolves offered to escort them home to make sure that they arrived safely. Ivy insisted saying that it was her pack’s duty to keep others safe. Avery, Mike and Brooks were quiet on the ride back home, the wolves tailed their car all the way. The ride felt longer than it usually did, the palpable awkwardness didn’t help. Avery was thankful when Brooks finally put the car in park. He was out and headed inside before the others even reached for their seatbelts. He stopped when he saw the dark shape laying in front of the steps leading to the porch. He could tell it was an animal. The others noticed when he started moving slower as he approached it. It was hard to distinguish with the harsh light that the car’s headlight gave.

“Avery?” Ivy called from her sister’s car. He held his hand out to quiet her. He didn’t know what kind of animal it was or if it was even alive. He reached into his jacket to pull out one of his throwing knives. He heard doors close behind him, Mike was already moving towards him with her knife at hand. It was a raccoon. It was dead. 

“There is a lot of blood.” Mike whispered to him looking over the mangled animal. 

“I don’t think another animal would have done that.” Avery leaned back pulling Mike closer to him. From the back the raccoon looked fine but on the other side it was gruesome. It’s chest and stomach had been ripped open. Intestines lay all over the place in a pool of dark blood. Its bones protruded out of its skin. Whatever had killed it had destroyed the poor animal’s ribcage. “Let’s get back to the car.” He turned pulling her with him. “At least until we figure out what this is.” He didn’t like having something so close to where they lived. This animal was a symbol, a threat to him and his. 

Brooks took a deep breath trying to catch the scent of whatever had been here. It smelled of rot and disease, the way it had smelled when those things chased him in the woods and downtown. They were still there. “Everybody get back in the car now!” He reached out for the hunters pulling them back. Avery pulled his arm out of reach squinting at a bush on the opposite end of the porch. He could have sworn that he saw something. 

“Guys get in the car.” It was Wren, she had seen these things and knew how deadly they were. She didn’t want anyone hurt. Avery stepped back, his eyes still on the bush, he was not going to turn his back on it. He moved slowly backwards and out of the harsh lights from the headlight. There was a loud screeching from the bush followed by a human shaped shadow lunging at him. It was a pitch black figure aside from the blood red eyes. It smelled disgusting. 

Avery didn’t have much time to think. He dove forwards rolling out of the things way. It barely missed him. Their arms brushed as the two moved, at least Avery assumed it was its arm. It was covered in prickly hairs, no way that they were human. The things landed on its side and scrambled to face him hissing. The prickly hairs covered its face as well. It had left deep scratches in the dirt where its talons had clawed. Avery drew a second knife facing the thing. The pack of wolves was already moving towards the thing from behind. Avery threw his arm back preparing to throw his first knife. Something heavy hit him from the side, followed by loud screeching in his ear. The hunter fell to the side dropping both of his knives. Pain shot through his right shoulder when they landed. As much as it hurt, he knew pain was good, it meant nothing was broken. The screeching continued in his ear, it was another one of those things. The first thing was busy fighting off Ivy who was slashing at it her eyes shining in alpha mode. 

Avery used his left arm to elbow the things on top of him. It didn’t seem to hurt it much but it was enough for it to move off of him. He rolled to the side and away from it. Seeing it in the lights of the headlights made the thing seem more grotesque. Its mouth was drenched in blood, probably from the poor raccoon it had mangled as the welcome home present. Its claws were different from the other thing. They were a deep red, the first one had a sickly looking off-white color. He figured it was the raccoon’s blood too. Its eyes were different than he had thought. It looked like it had multiple eyes, one big black iris in the middle and two little ones on the side of each pupil. He had seen something like this before but he wasn’t sure what it was. He needed to figure out how to kill it, beheading was always a sure fire way to kill something. He saw his knives several feet away from him, he needed to get them in order to survive. The things in front of him screeched loudly up into the night sky. Its voice was scratchy and unpleasant. It sounded like it didn’t have human vocal chords, like they had been ripped out and replaced with metal plates that scratched together whenever it made a sound. Avery took the moment to side step towards his knives. He reached the first knife when a chorus of screeching answered from the woods. It had called out to others like it. Avery took his knife and prepared for battle. Things were about to get worse.


	10. Close Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hunters and wolves are forced to face an unwanted set of visitors together.

Chapter 9: Close Call

The wolves spread out with their claws already retracted ready to attack. It was hard to distinguish where the other things were going to come from, their screeching sounded like it was coming from all around. Robin came up behind Avery and pulled him closer until they were standing with touching sides. Stormy had done the same to Mike. The siren could almost taste the distain coming from Brooks when he saw the large, dark skinned wolf acting protective over Avery. Brooks was always the one who pulled Avery away from danger, he was always there to protect him, Robin was stepping on his territory. The blonde wolf shook the thoughts from his head and instead focused on the oncoming attack. 

“I'll be fine.” Avery whispered to Robin stepping away slightly. Avery was confident in his ability to defend himself, if he needed protections he’d ask for it. He kept eye contact with the hideous thing in front of them. He reached back and stepped forward throwing one of his knives with as much force as he could. It sliced through the air stabbing the thing in its thigh. The silver blade immediately started smoking, burning the thing from the inside. Silver worked wonders on most supernatural creatures, as did fire, and beheading. The creature screeched in agony pulling on the base of the knife. Robin took his chance to lunge at the creature clawing at its neck. The thing didn't have time to react and was gurgling on its own blood before it realized it. The blood was dark and thick like syrup. Its wounds started to heal before it could bleed out too much. It slashed at Robin but the large wolf was too fast for it and dodge several of its attacks. Avery whipped his second knife at the creature hitting its bicep. Another horrid screech came from the creature’s mouth hurting all of the wolves’ ears. Sometimes heightened senses weren’t such a good thing. Avery stepped forward kicking the things square in the chest like he was kicking a door down. His siren powers gave him a bit more strength, not as much as a werewolf but more than a normal person. The creature flew backwards several feet before landing on the edge of the house’s wrap around porch. 

Ivy growled thrusting her claws in to the other creatures back. She felt her fingers pierce trough skin and bones. She made it look easy like a knife stabbing through a piece of cake. The creature thrashed in panic as she lifted it up off the ground with just the tips of her fingers. Mike watched in awe at how powerful an alpha werewolf could be. She knew that Brooks was technically an alpha but he didn’t have other wolves in his pack. Wolves’ powers added to each other, the bigger a pack was, the stronger the individual wolf became, especially the alpha.

“Wren.” Ivy nodded to her sister, her beta. Wren stepped forward her face stern and ready to fight. She let out a low rumbling growl, taking the creature’s head in her hands snapping its neck like it was nothing. She stepped back the second the creature stopped moving. The breaking of the bone was loud and everyone turned to look at it. Ivy withdrew her hand letting the creature’s lifeless body fall to the ground. It lay motionless.

Avery turned back to the creature he was fighting. It was still on the porch curled into itself tending to its wounds. It had pulled out both the knives that he had thrown at it and tossed them aside. Its wounds were already healing leaving its skin like nothing had happened, but Avery wasn’t focused on that. He noticed the smoke rising from its skin. Every part of the creature’s body that was touching the wood was searing like the porch was made of silver. He could smell the thing’s hair burning from where he was standing. Something about the porch was hurting it. It let itself fall down the steps unto the gravel path directly underneath them. 

“The porch.” Avery mumbled to himself taking a step forward. Robin pulled him back but he pulled away moving towards the thing. It looked up at him hissing but he kept moving. It slashed at him. He rolled his arm around the creatures locking it under his arm pit. The singed hair was making his nose burn, as if the thing didn’t smell bad enough already. He used all the force he could on the creatures arm. It howled in pain but the siren didn’t let up. He could feel the thing’s muscles and tendons straining under the pressure he was putting on them, and he wasn’t going to stop until it broke. “Robin break a piece of the railing off.” The large wolf looked confused but did as he was told. The piece he broke off was perfectly shaped for stabbing. The creatures lifted its arm to slice at Avery’s face but he caught it by the wrist pressing into its pressure point to weaken it. Pressure points had become more important since he had started training with Brooks. It was easy for the much stronger wolf to overpower him when they trained in hand to hand combat. The siren decided to research pressure points to give himself an equal fighting chance against other supernatural creatures. The hunter pushed the creature’s second hand away from him and twisted his body around the arm he had locked under his. The movement forced the ugly creature to fall to the ground. Avery took the piece of railing from Robin and thrusted it into the thing’s chest. The stick sunk through the creatures body like it had not skeleton inside. The wood burned instantly through the creature’s body as it thrashed on the ground in agony. Small black spiders crawled out of the burning wound and towards Avery and Robin. The two of them moved back quickly to avoid the small arachnids climbing on them. The group as a whole gasped at the sight of what seemed like a million spiders charging in their directions. 

“Ave.” Mike called to her friend. Mike hated spiders, it was always Avery’s job to kill them for her. The siren ran to her quickly and lifted her up unto the hood of the car, stomping on any spider that reached them. Most of little spiders died out before they could move too far. Brooks moved closer to the car swatting at the few spiders that were climbing on his boots. “Guys over there!” Mike pointed to the patch of trees across from them. Several pairs of red eyes gleamed at them. They were moving back and forth, it was more of those creatures. They were watching them.

“Brooks open the trunk.” Avery said moving to the back of the car, Robin only a step behind him. The wolf pushed the button on the car remote and the trunked popped open. Avery took a small satchel out and hung it over his shoulder. He took out another and tossed it up to Mike. “Sniper time.” He nodded at her slamming the trunk closed. Mike nodded jumping on the roof of the car. She kneeled and took out a foldable crossbow. She started setting it up. Avery reached into his satchel and took out two silver chains. 

“You just keep weapons in the back of your car?” Wren asked watching the two preparing for whatever was hiding in the woods. 

“Not everybody has claws and super strength.” Mike said strapping the arrows over her shoulder. “So we have to make do.” She loaded her first arrow. “Werewolves close your eyes.” She aimed the crossbow at the woods and shot the first arrow. It whirred past the field of grass next to their home and into the woods. A bright blinding light flashed in the woods painfully illuminating the trees. With any luck it would blind the enemy and give them a better look of how many creatures were hidden in the trees. The creatures in the woods all screamed being flushed out from the woods. There had to be a dozen of them, and they were all running straight for them. They ran on all fours, their claw ripping chunks of the soft ground as they moved forward. 

“Stormy, guard Mike please.” Avery said moving to the front line with part of the silver chains wrapped around his hands. He had put on leather gloves to protect himself since he was a supernatural creature after all. Stormy nodded and jumped up on the roof of the car next to Mike. Avery started to swing the chains building momentum waiting for the creatures to get close enough for him to attack. He would have preferred to use his throwing knives but he had learned early on that when wolves were involved in the fight things tended to be thrown around a lot, he didn’t wat to hurt the wrong person. He had built up a rhythm with the chains, it was important for when he made his attack. The creatures were just yards away from him. He positioned his feet for the best tossing movement. His body tensed in response to the adrenaline that was building from the oncoming attack. He heard a collective roar from all the wolves behind him. It startled him enough to lose the rhythm of his chains. All of the wolves ran past him towards the looming attack. Brooks ran past him following the other wolves. Avery was impressed at how in sync Brooks was with the others. The werewolf moved with the others as if he had been a part of their pack for years. It was the first time Avery had really seen him be so in touch with his wolf. He wondered how much Brooks missed that part of his life. Ivy led the wolves pouncing on top of the closest creature. She might have been small but she was agile and ferocious. Her roar seemed to resonate the most of all of the wolves’. Brooks was the second to make contact with the grotesque monsters. He slammed his claws into one of the creature’s throats and slammed it into the ground. The blood began to pour out in midair. Avery stood in awe at how vicious Brooks could be. He had never seen him be so wild and animalistic. He watched as the blonde wolf slashed at the creature’s chest repeatedly.

Mike aimed her second arrow at the several of creatures that made it through the wolves’ line up. It whirred past Avery and directly into the creature’s chest. Considering how dark it was Mike had amazing aim. Avery started swinging his chains again when he saw three of the things were coming closer to him. He turned quickly, swinging the chains with his momentum for a harder hit. The bottom half of the chains were razor sharps and made of pure silver, deadly to most supernatural creatures. He whipped the chains at the closest creature. The sharp edges left searing wounds on its face. He swung his arm back to retract the chain. Another arrow flew past him into one of the other creatures. Avery swung the chain again at an angle to catch the creature and cause more damage. The chain wrapped itself around the creature’s arm, instantly burning through its skin. It fell to the ground clawing at the silver. Avery swung the second chain wrapping it around its neck. He tightened his grip and pulled the chain towards himself. He could see the creature’s skin breaking deeper and deeper. Another of Mike’s arrows shot past them towards the other creatures. The creature he had wrapped up fell down lifeless. Its severed head rolled towards him slowly. He could see its body already deconstructing into thousands of small spiders. He pulled the chains away and jumped on top of the car’s hood. He watched as the spiders crawled around crazily for a few seconds before dying. Mike continued shooting arrow after arrow. She kept aiming for their chest which seemed to be slowing them down. They heard a painful roar from the field where the others were fighting. Brooks fell to the ground shaking in pain. Avery felt his heart drop at the sight of Brooks on the ground. He had to help him, it didn’t matter how mad he technically was at the wolf. He snapped his fingers at Mike and pointing to the one creature still moving towards them.

“Brooks!” Avery yelled out jumping off of the car and running full speed towards the wolf. Brooks was not one to let others know that he was in pain. He was on the ground shaking and holding his side, it had to be bad. The siren in Avery was rising clawing at his skin. He started to see red the closer he moved to the chaos the wolves and the creatures were creating. Avery swung his chain at the creature that was running towards him. The chain struck the creature hard enough to knock it back several steps. He didn’t stop to fight it off, knowing that Mike would sniper it out from atop of the car. He was focused on the blonde werewolf on the ground. One of the creatures stood over Brooks striking at him repeatedly. It was different that the other two that they had seen earlier. Its claws were pitch black like the hairs covering its body. Avery swung the chains again whipping them at the creature. He caught both of its arms as it reached back to strike Brooks again. It shrieked in pain as the silver sunk into its body. The thing fell backwards writhing on the ground trying to take the silver chains off of itself. “Brooks.” Avery heaved out kneeled down to help the wolf up. Brooks hissed in agony when Avery touched him. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” He took off his jacket and wrapped it around the wolf. He lifted the wolf up trying his best to ignore the pain that was wafting from Brooks. “We have to get you to the porch they won’t go near you.” Brooks was too busy trying not to scream in pain to listen to the siren. He allowed the siren to lead him away from the fight, he knew that no matter where Avery was leading him it was for the best. He clutched himself to the siren hoping that being near Avery would help soothe him like it usually did. 

“Shiloh!” Stormy yelled from the top of the car. She started running towards the fight. 

“Wait!” Avery reached out and stopped her. She looked to him desperately then at Shiloh who lay motionless and heaving on the ground. “Help me get Brooks inside then I will go get Shiloh, I need you with Mike guarding them after I get them there.” The tiny redhead nodded, tears starting to well in her eyes but she helped him carry Brooks to the house door. Mike was already at the door aiming her weapon behind them. “Here.” He lifted Brooks arm from around his shoulder and Mike took his place. Brooks kept his hold on Avery until Avery ran back to Shiloh. 

“Avery…” Brooks groaned through the pain. 

“I’ll be back.” Avery responded picking up his throwing knives from the ground in front of the steps. “I’m not leaving you I promise!” He zeroed his eyes on the surfer type werewolf who was still on the ground. Ivy, Wren, and Robin were all too busy fighting off the creatures to help him up. Avery slowed his pace and ran around the main fighting until he reached Shiloh. Shiloh looked up at him in fear.

“I…” He mumbled. “I…can’t…move.” Avery hushed him and kneeled down to lift him. Shiloh was much leaner than Brooks which made it easier for Avery to carry him back. The wolf was paralyzed, that meant that even if these things looked similar they were all different. He lifted the werewolf into a fireman’s carry and moved as fast as he could to a waiting Mike and Stormy. It was clear that Mike was holding Stormy back from leaving the safety of the wrap around porch. They were standing on the side of the porch closest to the field. “It’s the…claws.” Shiloh huffed out to Avery as he moved. “Poison.” He added. When they were close enough Stormy ran up to them and Avery let her take Shiloh off of his shoulder. She carried the blonde wolf in a bridal carry up the porch steps and inside. 

“I have to get the others inside.” Avery said taking the crossbow from Mike. She nodded and handed him the rest of the arrows so he could reload before he stepped off the porch and back into the chaos and danger. “Stay inside.” He ordered pressing his forehead against hers. She ran inside to check on the injured wolves. Avery took a deep breath before running back to the other wolves. He kept his aim steady on the chaos and moved forward. Wren screamed in pain and fell to the ground. The creature who wounded her reached back to slash at her wounded chest. Avery aimed his weapon at it and launched two arrows towards it. Both arrows hit its neck forcing the creature to the ground gurgling in pain through its blood. Wren lay on the ground with her hands covering just below her breasts. The creature had slashed through her top. The skin around the wound was turning red instantly. The red veins rippled out from the wound, and continued growing. Avery shot another arrow in the skull of the creature Robin was busy fighting off. “Get her inside!” Avery ordered to the dark skinned wolf. Robin looked back to Ivy who was fighting off two creatures. “I’ll help Ivy, please take her inside!” Avery shouted. He squeezed Wren’s hand. The brunette lay on the ground breathing heavily looking up at him. “Whatever you do stay with us.” Avery whispered letting her go and moving to Ivy. He aimed his crossbow at one of the creatures. “Ivy, duck!” Ivy didn’t hesitate and did as she was told. Avery shot the last of his two arrows into the chest of one of the creatures. Ivy slashed at the other creature’s legs, ripping through its ankles. The creature fell to the ground, Ivy didn’t hold back and kept slashing at it. Avery dropped the crossbow and withdrew his knives again. He swung his arm back and whipped it at the other creature releasing it. The creature fell down instantly when the knife stabbed its neck. “Ivy we have to go.” Avery said putting his hand out for her to take. 

“But.” The alpha responded looking to the two creatures still looming in the woods. 

“People are wounded and need us inside.” He said pulling her with him. A terrifying screech came from the woods that stopped them both from running. They sat motionless and watch as more sets of red eyes appeared from the shadows. Avery tightened his grip on her arm. “C’mon we can’t take them on alone.” Ivy took off running faster than him. He struggled to keep up but his grip on her didn’t falter. They reached the safety of the porch without a problem. The two stood heaving watching the new group of creatures walking slowly around the house. 

“What’s with the porch?” Ivy asked huffing and looking closely at the wood. 

“I don’t know.” Avery said sitting down, leaning against the side of the house. “It was here when we bought the house. I think Brooks knows.” He remembered Brooks. “I have to check on Brooks.” He pushed himself up and headed towards the door.

“I thought you were mad at him?” She asked following him.

“Yeah I am,” He responded. “but I still care about him.” He opened the door for her. “Also please don’t use your stupid werewolf powers on me.” She looked at him shyly.

“It’s kind of hard not to…” She stammered. “Your siren side seems to like…multiply everything you feel to my werewolf side.”

Avery sighed. “Can you pretend that you don’t know what I’m feeling then?” He motioned for her to go in. “I don’t like you guys telling me how I feel, when I don’t completely know how I feel.” She nodded in agreement. “Get inside please.” 

 

Inside Mike, Robin and Stormy had moved all of the injured wolves into the living room. Both of their sofas had a pullout bed. They had moved the coffee table to make room for the beds. Brooks lay alone on one still shaking in pain. Avery moved immediately towards him. He sat on the edge of the bed unsure if he should even touch the wolf. Brooks crawled closer to him, his shaky hand finding Avery’s. 

“Brooks, I don’t know what to do.” Avery whispered using the back of his hand to wipe sweat off of the wolf’s forehead. Ivy sat down next to her sister examining the growing dark Lichtenberg figures on her abdomen. 

“They all have different symptoms.” Mike said sitting on the other side of Brooks handing Avery a towel to wipe off Brooks. “It’s like they were all hit with different poisons or something.” 

“Their claws were different colors.” Robin said coming in from the kitchen. He held three glasses of water. He handed one to Avery and motioned to Brooks, he moved on and handed one to Ivy and one to Stormy who was taking care of Shiloh. 

“I noticed that too.” Avery said setting the water down. He steadied himself and pulled Brooks up so that he could drink it. Brooks moaned in pain at the slight movement. Avery felt the wolf’s muscles tense when he touched him. “I’m sorry.” He whispered wiping sweat off of the blonde’s forehead. “Here.” He placed the water to his lips and held it as steady as he could so that the wolf could drink. He watched Brooks struggle to swallow without flinching in pain. It took him a while to drink the whole glass but both Avery and Mike felt much better when he did. 

“What are we going to do?” Mike asked. “We don’t even know what those things are?”

“Or where they came from?” Ivy said from the other couch. She lowered her sister back down on the bed. From Wren’s face it was clear that she was not in as much pain as Brooks but her wound didn’t look any better. He looked to Shiloh who sat motionless aside from his face, he didn’t look like he was in pain. 

“I’m cold.” Wren said shivering. Ivy sat back down with her looking at Mike. 

“Do you mind getting her a blanket?” The alpha asked. Mike nodded and stood.

“I’ll go with you.” Avery said looking down at Brooks. It hurt him to see the wolf in that condition. He placed a pillow down and moved Brooks down on it, trying to ignore the wolf’s grunts of pain. Brooks reached for his hand trying to pull him back, pulling harder on Avery’s heart strings. “I’ll be right back.” The siren whispered. “I’ll find a way to make it better.” He pulled his hand from the wolf’s grip, it pained him to leave Brooks alone when he needed him there, but Avery had to focus on setting his needs aside in order to help everyone involved. “There is food through the door at the end of the hall.” He pointed to the hallway next to the stairs. “If you need anything just call me.” Ivy just nodded and turned back to her sister. Robin stood at the window watching the creatures outside, studying their moves. He noticed that the able bodied of the creatures were busy eating their fallen. He decided it would be best to keep that detail to himself. Mike walked out of the room with Avery close behind, the two began climbing up the stairs. The house had multiple linen closets scattered throughout, only one of them had actually linen and extra blankets. The rest were filled with weapons. Straight down the hall just before Mike’s bedroom was the linen closet. Avery opened it and turned on the light so that they could see.

“I think we should call Roz and Rei.” She whispered, she put her arms out so that Avery could pile the blankets on top. Avery side-eyed her and bent down to pull the first blanket out. “We don’t have anything here to help us identify poisons.” She continued when he didn’t answer. “They have tons of that stuff in Chicago.”

“And tell the pack who we are, and where we come from?” He said looking down the hall making sure that nobody was standing there listening. He placed the first blanket on top of her arms. 

“We don’t know what kind of poisons they got hit with, they could all die.” 

“I don’t know. What if neither group reacts well?” He pulled out the second blanket. 

“They’ll just have to deal with it, if we don’t work together than we all lose members of our groups.” She lifted her chin to make room for the second blanket, they were bulky and soft. 

“I know, I don’t want to lose Brooks.” He took the last blanket out and shut the light off. “So much for leaving Chicago behind.” He closed the closet door and headed back down the stairs. Robin was still at the window watching the creatures crawl around.

“They won’t touch the light for some reason.” He said not taking his eyes off of them. “It doesn’t hurt them though.” Avery walked straight to Brooks and covered him with the bulky blanket. He tucked the sides underneath the wolf’s body to try to stop the shaking. Brooks’s eyes were half closed and glassy, his breathing was staggered, and his skin was losing its glow. Avery had to do something, even if it pissed everyone else off. Mike handed a blanket to Stormy who quickly covered Shiloh with it. Mike took it upon herself to cover Wren, Ivy was nowhere to be found. 

“Where’s Ivy?” Mike asked tucking Wren is a softly as she could, she didn’t want to touch her wound to avoid dealing more pain, or getting infected herself. 

“Kitchen.” Robin pointed out into the hall. Avery looked to Mike and nodded in the direction of the kitchen. The two walked slowly, Avery would most likely do all of the talking but Mike was still nervous. If things went south it would be three against two, in close quarters. Ivy stood at the sink rinsing the knife she had used. 

“Ivy, we need to talk about our options and what we do from here.” Avery said softly, he knew she could hear him past the running water. “We don’t know what we are up against which makes it difficult for us to fight back effectively.” There wasn’t much that they could do that wouldn’t lead Ivy to the conclusion that they were hunters, it would be better to get it out of the way now than to have her figure it out later and feel betrayed. 

“Who are Roz and Rei?” She asked calmly setting the knife back in its holder and turning. “And how could they possibly help us?” The hunters froze in place, she had heard them from all the way down where she was. 

“They’re our siblings.” Avery answered trying to keep his composure, the two groups may have spent a few hours getting along but they were far from allies. “They’re in Chicago.” Ivy nodded slowly keeping her eyes on them. Avery heard heavy footsteps coming up behind him and Mike. He knew it was Robins, it didn’t make it any less scary. Robin walked right past them and next to Ivy, he leaned on the counter. 

“Who are you?” The alpha asked. Her voice was soft but stern, it told them that she had the capabilities to force them to speak if they didn’t comply. Mike looked up to Avery, it was his choice whether or not they told her.  
“I’m Avery Bishops, and she’s Micheleen Maki.” He said. Ivy raised an eyebrow as if that was supposed to mean something to her. To be honest it was a little insulting to the hunters that they were not recognized, or at least their last names. “We both come from long lines of supernatural hunters.” He continued. “Our siblings are in Chicago with our parents and other hunters, they have all the supplies needed to help the injured.” He motioned to the living room where the three wounded wolves lay. 

“Hunters?” Ivy said, he voice was harsh, clearly not happy. Avery nodded. “A hunter siren, with a werewolf?” She looked to Robin, the large wolf looked just as confused as his alpha. 

“Only a few of the hunters know about my siren side.” Avery responded. “It’s why we left.”

“How am I going to be sure that you or your siblings won’t just kill my pack?” She asked narrowing her eyes at them. She hadn’t moved from her spot, she still had her arms crossed. 

“We have nothing against you, there is no reason for us to.” Avery tried to assure.

“Wolves and hunters don’t usually coexist naturally.” Robin’s voice rumbled from where he stood. “It’s a miracle that you and Brooks managed to do it.”

“An alliance pact.” Mike suggested. The others all looked to her. “It’s a thing.” She defended. “You shake hands and make an alliance, your enemies become our enemies, our allies are your allies.”

“And our siblings will have to follow the pact, or else you are free to kill us.” Avery said sticking out his hand. Both wolves flinched slightly at his movement. It made him feel good to see that they were just as afraid as he was. 

“And vice versa.” Ivy added putting her own hand out. Avery took her hand and shook it firmly. “And if any of yours turn on me,” She whispered to him. “You’ll be the last that I kill, so you can watch them all die.” Ivy may have been a foot shorter than Avery but she was still intimidating. Regardless he needed to respond.

“Right back at you.” He let go of her hand and turned to Mike. “Get the phone.” She nodded and left the room towards the living room. “It’s late so they might not be here until tomorrow early in the morning.” Avery said turning to go where Mike was. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Mike kneeled on the ground inside the linen closet reaching for something on the floor. She used the blade of her knife to lift a piece of the wooden panel. Avery saw the two wolves looking at all of the weapons inside the closet. “This is nothing compared to what we have in Chicago.” He chuckled.

“You know how to use all of those?” Ivy asked running her fingers over the blade of sickle shaped knife. Avery nodded smiling. 

“If this whole ally things works I’ll teach you someday.” The alpha looked at him unsure if she wanted to learn how to use all of those weapons, she was more used to them being used against her. Avery looked down to Mike who was busy pulling a small box out from under the flooring. She opened it and handed him a cell phone. She looked it over making sure it was intact and turned it on when he decided it looked fine. The four stood in silence waiting for the device to turn on. It only took a few seconds but it felt much longer. Avery slid his finger across the screen to unlock it. Instantaneously the phone started to light up with notifications. He had ten missed calls and seventeen text messages. His heart started racing at the numbers he saw.

“What’s wrong? What is it?” Ivy asked feeling the siren’s panic. He didn’t answer her question, instead he opened his contacts, it only had one number in it, he pressed the call button and walked away. 

“The only person who has that number is his sister.” Mike explained following him. “And she only calls in case of an emergency.” 

“How long has the phone been down there?” Robin asked following the two hunters.

“Since this morning, we turned it off the minute we got on the plane so they couldn’t track us.” She stood at the door looking into the living room. Avery had sat on the couch next to Brooks waiting for his sister to pick up the phone. “They don’t know where we live now in case his siren is compromised.” She whispered. “We check it every morning but try not to use it.”

“Roz? What the hell is going on? I’ve got ten missed calls.” He looked to Mike and set the phone on speaker. 

“Avery are you okay?” Roz sounded tired and sick.

“I’m fine, what is going on?”

“We got attacked.” She answered. That caught everyone’s attention. “After you and Mike left, all of the hunters were here in our building and something got in and attacked.”

“Is everyone okay?” Avery asked. Mike kneeled on the ground in front of Avery to hear Roz better. 

“No,” She said solemnly. “We lost three hunters, three others were injured.” 

“Where’s Rei?” Mike asked, she needed to hear that he was okay.

“He is fine, he’s here with me.” She stopped talking for a second. They could hear muffled speaking and ruffling sounds. “Sorry,” She said after a few seconds. “I don’t know what these things were but they attacked those in the Deadly Dozen only.”

“Deadly Dozen?” Ivy asked. Avery held his hand out quieting her. 

“Do you think it’s the same things?” Mike whispered. Avery shrugged.

“Are you guys safe where you are?” Roz asked.

“We were already attacked Roz, it’s actually why we are calling.” Avery admitted.

“You said you were okay!” Roz scolded from the other end. “Why didn’t you say that first?!” Rei was heard in the background calming her. “Avery, you and Mike are alone and don’t have the same resources we have...”

“We are fine, its Brooks who is injured.” He interrupted. He knew she hated when he interrupted but he didn’t have time. “He and two others that were with us.”

“Some sort of poison?” She asked. Maybe they had been attacked by the same things. 

“Yeah, we wanted to ask you to bring us one of the antidote kits dad had in the training halls.” 

“The three injured we have here were poisoned too.” Roz said. “But medics arrived to early for us to do any testing on their blood for a cure.”

“So bring it here and we can help our wounded then you can call and tell dad which cure works best.” Avery looked to Brooks who was beginning to shiver. 

“Will you be able to hold those things on until morning?” Roz asked.

“They won’t come near the house.” Avery said. “Something about the porch hurts them, it’s like a protection ring for us.”

“Okay, I’ll be there early in the morning.” Roz responded. “We’ll take dad’s private jet.” The wolves looked at each other impressed at the thought of having something so lavish at their disposal. “Be safe.”

“Wait, Roz,” Avery called out, he had to know who was lost. “Who did we…who,” He had a hard time getting the words out.

“Diana, Mosi, and…” She paused. The deadly dozeners may not have always seen eye to eye but they had all known each other for years. “…and Ruben.” She finished. Mike and Avery looked at each other, it was hard to hear that another from their original group had fallen. Mike covered her eyes trying not to cry. 

“What about the injured what symptoms do they have?” Avery forced his words out.

“What do you mean?” His sister sniffled.

“These things have different poisons on their claws.”

“Stefan, has these spider web looking veins.” She said. “The twins are both in constant pain but there is no veins, or wound other than a few scratches. They’re all in the hospital right now.”

“What about Maja and Bea?” Avery asked. “You said they went after Deadly Dozeners only right?”

“Maja fought one of them off long enough for us to come in, it ran away after that.” Roz said. “Bea was with Rei and I, we had gone out to blow off some steam.”

“What are we gonna do after figuring out the poison thing?” Mike asked. 

“I don’t know, just stay inside and we will figure something out.” Roz answered. Avery gave her the address to his restaurant and together the two groups figured out where it would be closest for Roz and Rei to land the private jet. There was a small town about an hour away where they could land and keep the jet. They arranged for a car to be ready for them when they arrived. After hanging up Avery and Mike started collecting weapons and set them somewhere where they were easily reached. They had about ten hours before the others would arrive, a lot can happen in ten hours.


	11. Neutral Ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hunters from Chicago arrive. Both leaders(Roslyn and I've) meet to set some ground rules between the two unfriendly groups.

Chapter 10: Neutral Ground

The group slept in shifts, just because the things outside had not attacked yet it didn’t mean that they wouldn’t. Avery skipped his sleep shift to make sure that Brooks was not left alone. He watched over him diligently throughout the night. He watched the sunrise through the sheer blinds, the creatures ran away into the woods avoiding the sun like it was death itself. Even with them gone he didn’t want to go to sleep. The poor wolf had not stopped shaking. Wren was in worse shape, her skin pigment had faded to a sickly white, the dark veins from her wound were branching out farther and farther. The skin looked like it was decaying, she was dying slowly, piece by piece. Ivy sat on the ground next to her sister. The hunters had offered her Brook’s room to rest but she refused to leave her side, even if she was going to be asleep. Robin however didn’t hesitate to take Avery’s room. Stormy took Brooks’s since Ivy wasn’t going to. He sat in silence watching Brook’s chest rise and drop steadily with his forced breathing. He wanted to reach out and touch him, comfort him but he couldn’t. He didn’t want to wake him up, at least asleep he didn’t have to suffer. His eyes were pulled from the wolf when he heard Mike’s footsteps as she stumbled down the stairs. He watched her move lazily pulling her hair back into a bun. She yawned and he had to look away to keep the fatigue from getting to him. 

“You should change.” She whispered rubbing her eyes. Her voice was soft and raspy from sleep. “I’ll take care of him, you go upstairs.”

“Ok.” He said quietly. He didn’t want to, but he had no energy to fight with her so he went along. He stood up as slowly as he could to not disturb the sleeping wolf. It had taken hours for Brooks to sleep in a somewhat comfortable position. “Check the phone.” He pointed to the cellphone. It was on the floor connected to its charger. It had not rang or vibrated since he spoke to his sister but he wasn’t going to let another call get by him. “They should be arriving into town any minute.” 

He made his way up the stairs. It was weird to see someone else sleeping in his bed, well someone who was not Brooks. Robin looked a little too comfy for someone who was sleeping in the bed of the supposed enemy. The large man had sprawled himself out on the bed, his limb hanging from different ends. Avery opened his closet and began to search for clothing to change into. He had not noticed how dirty the clothing he was wearing actually was. Dirt and grass stains were deep in the fibers of his jeans. He knew that more fighting was coming up so he decided to wear dark jeans with a matching jean jacket, he decided on a light hoodie under the jacket. He figured that the more layers he had on would mean he was less likely to get poisoned like the wolves down in the living room. He headed into his bathroom and started cleaning up. He checked himself over in the mirror for any injury. He had nothing aside from a bruise near his lower back, he wasn’t entirely sure how he had gotten it. Even if he knew it was not important at the moment. He let the water from the sink run over his hands until he felt it was warm enough to wash his face. He brought the warm water to his face, it was soothing. It made him want to take a real shower but he knew he didn’t have the time for that. 

“Morning.” Robin said walking into the bathroom half asleep. 

“Umm…” Avery looked at the wolf confused, did he not see that the siren was completely naked? The dark skinned wolf didn’t even acknowledge his nudeness, he just stood in front of the toilet and started undoing his jeans to pee. 

“Werewolves aren’t as prudish as other people.” Robin said turning to the siren mid-stream. He had sensed how the discomfort from the siren. He watched as Avery hid behind his hands, he wasn’t sure why the siren was so ashamed his body was fine. Better than most humans.

“That doesn’t make it any less awkward to see your dick, not to mention I haven’t been naked in front of many people.” Avery said stepping into his boxer briefs. “You could have at least knocked or something.” Robin just shrugged tucked himself back in. 

“You can look if you want to.” The large wolf said. “I’ll get naked too.” Avery just shook his head.

“No thank you.”

“It’s only fair,” Robin responded. “I saw yours, you should see mine.” The siren couldn’t help but laugh at that, he raised an eyebrow at him. He felt like a child, I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.

“Maybe some other time.” He sneered turning back to the mirror. He used a nearby towel to wipe the dirt off of his forehead and arms. He wanted to focus on anything else to change the subject from Hey want to see my genitals? The wolf shrugged.

“Do you have anything that I can borrow?” Robin asked looking down at his shirt. One of the creatures had shredded through the chest. He pulled the shirt off and threw it in the garbage. “Luckily they didn’t get my skin.” He ran his hand over his skin as if to make sure there was no scarring, wolves heal perfectly. Lucky bastards, Avery had too many scars just from training. Although ever since his siren was awakened her noticed his scars were starting to fade. Maybe healing was something he’d have to learn.

“Just look in the closet, I’m sure I have something that fits you.” The wolf may have been bigger but something had to fit. The two continued to dance around each other half naked to get ready. Robin finished first, but all he had done was change his shirt and wipe off the dirt from his skin. He sat on the counter and watched Avery continue to fix himself up. 

“What is that stuff?” The wolf asked pointing to the spray can in the siren’s hand.

“Dry shampoo,” The siren sprayed the roots of his hair. “It soaks up oils and helps with dirt and stuff.” The wolf watched as he sprayed different sections and massaged the spray into his scalp. He wasn’t sure why he was spending time cleaning his hair when he was sure it was just going to get dirty before the day was over.

“Can you breathe underwater?” The wolf asked after a minute of silence aside from the spray. Avery side-eyed him confused. “Siren’s live in water right?” Robin asked defensively. “In Greek myths that’s where they live and lure men.” That was a new idea, it shouldn’t have been but it was.

“I haven’t tested that theory…” The wolf had a point, Avery just had not spend any time near water aside from the shower. “but I will let you know.” Avery started brushing his hair to untangle it. “Most Greek myths and folk lore about supernatural creatures are drastic exaggerations.” Avery said.

“True.” Robin smiled to himself, most of the stories about werewolves were false also. He sat and watched Avery brush his hair. Avery was not used to someone watching his every move, well not in the way Robin was watching him. The wolf seemed genuinely interested in him. Robin reminded him of a child, filled with curiosity always asking why or how. It was a stark contrast to the first impression that the wolf had left on him.

“Robin, you’re weird.” Avery smiled setting the brush down. Avery had always considered himself to be a bit weird. The smile faded from the wolf’s face. The siren felt the wolf’s discomfort at his words.

“I’m sorry.” Robin stood from where he sat. Avery knew that he had struck some sort of nerve for the wolf. “I just thought that we were friends or something.” He hurriedly took his torn shirt from the garbage can and began to change back.

“What are you doing?” Avery asked turning to the wolf. The wolf stopped looking at him expectantly. “We are friends.” He took the torn shirt from the wolf’s hands and put it back in the garbage. “It’s just…” How could he phrase it so that he didn’t hurt the taller man’s feelings again. “I’m not as comfortable with this whole thing as you seem to be.”

“I’ve never really had friends, well non-wolf friends.” The wolf admitted. “Especially guy friends.” Avery had never really given much thought to how different wolves and humans acted, aside from during a fight. Did they really spend that much time naked? Like a nudist colony or something?

“What about Shiloh?” Avery asked pointing down as if they could see the other wolf through the floor.

“Shiloh is a tool.” Robin said rolling his eyes. “I only put up with him because he is in the pack and because he’s dating Stormy.” Avery had to hold back a laugh, it seemed nobody liked Shiloh. “90% of his vocabulary is the word dude and bro.”

“Oh, so what I’m like your…first guy friend?” He asked pulling on his jean jacket. The wolf nodded timidly, he was embarrassed at the fact. “Okay, we are friends.” Avery smiled putting his hand to shake Robin’s. Robin smiled widely and took it shaking it. “Ow, ow.” Avery said pulling his hand away laughing, at the wolf’s excitement. Clearly the wolf didn’t know his own strength. “We just have to set a few rules, okay?” Robin nodded understanding. “First off no naked bathroom parties, unless we have no other choice, most guys don’t do that.” He started walking out of the bathroom and Robin followed him. “We don’t need to see each other’s junk.” He thought for a second. “If it’s a medical thing then we can talk about it, I guess.” He bent down to put his shoes on. “Also don’t sit there and watch me do my hair, its awkward.” Robin sat on the bed thinking over the new rules of friendship.

“Anything else?” Robin asked diligently. Avery shook his head.

“Not right now but if we run into something else I will let you know.” He put his fist out for the wolf to bump. 

“Thanks.” Robin smiled down at him. “I’m really glad we are friends.”

“Me too.” Avery smiled playfully punching the wolf. In all honesty, Avery wasn’t too keen on friendships either. Aside from Mike he really didn’t have friends, they were all acquaintances. Maybe a friendship with Robin would be good for both of them. It did make him feel good to learn that Robin was just a confused as he was with social interaction. He opened his closet again and pulled out a jacket leather jacket. He had ordered it online but it was too big. He handed it to the wolf. “Leather might protect you from the poison.” 

“Avery?” Mike called to him from the bottom of the stairs. His heart dropped, she could only be calling him for two things, either Brooks was getting worse or his sister had arrived in town. In all honesty Avery was not prepared for either.

“I’m coming.” He rushed out of his room and down the steps, Robin only a step behind him. He had felt the panic in Avery’s heartbeat figured he would be needed too. 

“Roz is in town, headed towards the restaurant.” Mike was standing at the window looking out. “Those things are gone.”

“For now.” Avery said. “I’ll go into town and get her, you stay here with stormy to watch over them.” He looked down at the three injured wolves. He prayed to anyone that would listen that they could find a cure for their pain. “Ivy, Robin, come with me.” Robin nodded digging out the keys to Wren’s car from his jeans.

“Are you sure your sister will be okay with this?” Ivy asked putting on her jacket. Avery shrugged.

“It doesn’t matter, you and I are in an alliance.” Avery responded. “If she tries to attack you then she is attacking me, she has no choice but to work with us. We already lost three, I doubt she wants to lose more.” He took a second to regain his composure. 

“Sometimes climbing to the top makes you a bigger target.” Mike said finally closing the shades on the window. “Which means you have to take help from anyone willing to give it.” She walked past them towards the kitchen. “I’ll make some food for everybody by the time you get back.”

“No, I can get some at the restaurant and bring it back.” Avery said. “You and Stormy should look through your books to figure out what the hell those things are.” She nodded and headed up the stairs towards the small library in her walk-in closet. “Let’s go.” He turned and led the two wolves out the door. The broken railing that he used as a stake still lay on the ground. He picked it up and started walking towards his car. It had been left on all night, the battery had died. He peeked inside before reaching for the keys still in the starter. “We can fix that when we get back.” He said closing the door. The three moved in unison slowly, keeping an eye out for any possible attacks. Just because they didn’t see anything didn’t mean it wasn’t there. It was a giant relief when they were finally sitting inside the car. Avery had to crouch down to fit in the back seat. The top of his head hit the door frame on the way in, he lost a few hairs in the movement. Robin didn’t have any better luck himself, he at least had leg room in the passenger seat.

“Told you this car was too small.” Robin said to his alpha. It was something she had failed to take into consideration when she bought it for her sister. She had always figured that it was just Robin and his freakish height. Ivy looked in the rearview mirror and had to hold back a laugh at the sight of Avery huddled into the small space holding the wooden stake close to his chest. Ivy turned on the car and put it in reverse.

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Roz’s SUV was already parked outside the restaurant by the time Avery and the wolves had arrived. She stood leaning against the back of her SUV. Avery could see her looking over everything in sight, she was judging. Small towns weren’t really her thing. To be honest they weren’t Avery’s either but could deal with it. Ivy pulled up to the space directly in front of her and put the car in park. Avery was the first to get out of the car, after a few seconds of struggling against the door frame of course.

“Roz.” He smiled. Despite all of the bickering they had done the last time they spent time together, he was glad that she was safe. He walked over to her pulling her into a hug.

“Are you guys okay?” She asked looking over his face. He nodded turning to the wolves and waved them over. 

“Who are they?” Roz asked looking over the two. 

“Member of the local werewolf pack.” He said looking away from her. He knew she would get mad.

“Why are you working with werewolves?” Her tone coming off angry, he had called that.

“They were with us when we got attacked.” He explained. “They wanted to meet with us so that we could get to know each other and make sure we weren’t a threat.”

“How the hell am I supposed to tell them you’re working with wolves?” She whispered. Even if she had not been whispering he had felt her anger wrap around him like a plastic bag suffocating him. He took a step back and put his hand out motioning her to do the same. She didn’t.

“Who? Rei?” Avery asked looking into the car.

“No the others.” She hissed through her teeth. “They don’t even know about Brooks.” 

“Others?” He asked. Ivy and Robin stood behind him. Roz glared at the two wolves not even pretending to be okay with the whole situation. “Ivy, Robin, this is my sister Roz.” Avery said looking back to them. “Roz this is Ivy, the alpha.” He pointed to the small, wide-eyed girl behind him. “This is Robin, he is acting as her beta right now, her real beta is back at my place wounded.” He raised an eyebrow at his sister. “Ivy and I are currently under an alliance pact.” Roz stepped to the alpha and put her hand out. 

“Roslyn Bishops.” She towered over the dainty looking wolf. 

“Ivy Redford.” The alpha responded shaking her hand. “Nice to meet you, your brother is valiant in battle.” She added. “I am sure you are the same.” Roz smiled politely and turned to Robin. 

“Robin Jonessy.” He said shaking her hand. Roz nodded. 

“Let’s go inside.” Avery said ushering the group in. “It’s neutral ground, so you two can talk things out, we need to be on the same page if we are going to work together.”

“Avery, its not just me here.” Roz said nodding to her SUV. “There is others, others that don’t know about your…situation.”

Avery looked into the SUV, it was hard to see who was inside with the tinted windows. Having others there would just complicate things.

“What situation?” Ivy asked looking between the two siblings. “You and Brooks?” 

“No,” Avery whispered. “Me and my siren.” He sighed running his hand through his hair. “Only a few people now about what I am, others might turn on me and my family.” He didn’t need to specify to the wolves who the “others” were.

“So we keep it a secret from them.” Robin said sternly. “If it’s what we need to do to keep you safe.”

“Thank you.” Avery said to him. He turned to the alpha to see if she would go along. She smiled nodding at him in agreement. It was a conflicting feeling to know that he could put more trust in the people he had seen as enemies for years than he could in those who were on his side. “Who else is here?” Roz waved her hand signaling the people to exit the car and join them outside. Avery could feel his heart pounding harder the longer they waited. Whoever was on the other side of those doors could destroy his life, and his family’s.

Rei was the first one out. Avery had known he was there, he was the least of his worries. The back door opened, a pair of chunky black high heels stepped out. He saw the chocolate brown hair flail in the light breeze before he saw the face. He knew who it was, Beatriz. She fixed her hair before walking towards them. It looked shorter than the last time he saw her, it was cut in a blunt bob just below her chin. The bangs made her eyes look that much bigger. But then again the last time he saw her it had been braided in an up-do.

“Avery.” She said in her fading Spanish accent. “How are you?” She put her arms out to hug him. 

“Bea, good to see you.” He responded. “I’m sorry to hear about your sisters, how are they doing?”

“They are stable but they seem to be in a lot of pain.” She turned and introduced herself to the wolves. 

“How is your…boyfriend?” She asked him nervously. Maybe she was aware that Brooks was a werewolf. Roz shifted on her feet behind her, she was probably the one to tell Bea. Avery couldn’t be mad at her for that, the truth would have come out to them sometime.

“Same.” He responded nervously. “And he’s not my boyfriend.” He looked down at the ground grinding his shoe into the floor. Bea seemed unmoved either way. Just because she didn’t seem too bothered by it didn’t mean she was okay with it. “Hopefully you guys brought the proper materials to fix that.”

“My sisters are the only reason why I’m working with wolves.” She said. “Nothing against you personally.” She added to Ivy. Neither wolf seemed to like that, Ivy’s shoulder tensed.

“We are all trying to save someone we care about, and there is no way to treat your sister with Chicago medics in the way.” Avery said stepping in the middle of them. “So we either work together, or we can all go home and wait for them to die.” He looked between the two of them. 

“He’s right.” Rei said. “Whatever those things were, they targeted both of our groups.” Both groups stood in silence staring each other down. 

“Ivy and her pack are in alliance with me, which makes you part of that alliance.” Avery explained to the Latina hunter. She nodded with her jaw clenched. 

“What is going on?” A voice asked from behind them. Avery looked behind Bea to see Maja stepping out of the car. What was she doing here?

“Maja?” He asked looking over the Hindi hunter. “What is she doing here?” He whispered to his sister, Maja was a new inductee she had no business being out in the field so soon. Most Deadly Dozeners had to wait a year before they took part of a hunt without supervision from the council.

“These things are going after the Deadly Dozen,” Roz clarified to her brother. “I think it would be best for all those who are able to fight back to stay together.”

“If we stay together we have a better chance to survive.” Bea added. “Add werewolf muscle on top of that, and we could be unstoppable.” She smiled to the wolves to show them that she was coming along. 

Ivy nodded at both women. “It’s a good plan.”

“Speaking of plans,” Avery motioned to the restaurant. “We have to get some things out of the way so we can get back to the house and save the dying people.” He snapped his fingers and led the others inside. He desperately needed to separate himself from the suffocating tension the group held as a whole.

The restaurant had not opened so it was just a couple of waitresses.

“You’re back!” Jerilyn cheered the second Avery opened the door. She was wiping off all of the tables before customers came in. “We weren’t expecting you until at least tomorrow, figured you’d want to rest up for a day.” She said replacing the condiments to the middle of the table. “How was Chicago?” She looked at the group of people behind him.

“Jerilyn, this is my sister Roz.” Jerilyn smiled looking over the girls with him. “and some of her friends.” He motioned to the rest. “We are just here to pick up some food and go back to my place…to rest up.” She nodded smiling the whole time. 

“Well I do hope you guys stop by again before you go back home.” The redhead smiled sweetly up at the taller hunters. Roz traded looks with Rei, in Chicago someone as openly nice as the waitress was a rare thing. Jerilyn turned her attention to the next table in her area and began cleaning it up. “I’d love to get to know your sister.” She started humming and began clearing the table so she could wipe it down. Avery pointed to the table farthest from the door, the usual spot-table 12. He was a creature of habit.

“Why don’t you four sit down.” Avery said ushering the wolves into the booth. Roz and Rei sat across from them. “Maja, Bea you can help me get some food for everyone for when we return home.” Ivy looked up at him expectantly, she figured he would be a part of the talk. She kind of hoped that he would be a part of the talk. Roz may only be human but she was still intimidating. She and her pack didn’t have much experience with organized hunters, she was sure they were deadlier than rouge hunters. “This is neutral ground,” Avery reminded sternly. “No yelling, or fighting. Talk things over leader to leader and I’ll be back to check on you.” Roz nodded obediently, being a restaurant owner had definitely given her brother the ability to boss others around effectively. Avery led the other two girls into the kitchen with him. Ivy could hear the cooks greeting him and welcoming him back. 

“The staff here seems to really like your brother.” She said to Roz. She hoped small chit-chat would ease the tension and lead into the important matters at hand. Even if she was not completely trusting of these hunters she knew putting up good face would be beneficial in the future. Roz eyed her and Robin from across the table. Ivy knew that look. She was being the protective older sister, she played that role many times when dealing with Wren.

“Why did you ask to meet up with my brother and his friends?” Roz cut straight to her main concern. Yep, the protective older sister. It didn’t matter to Roz how much bigger and stronger Avery may be or become, he was still and always would be her little brother. He was a kid, kid’s needed protection.

“When you hear there is a new siren in town you tend to get curious.” The alpha responded. She respected Roz for focusing on her priorities. “Word travels quickly in a small town.”

“So there is other creatures here besides werewolves?” Rei asked. Ivy nodded.

“They are all harmless as far as we know, my pack and I wanted to make sure that your brother and his werewolf boyfriend were too.” She shifted forward to get closer to the hunters. “We keep this area safe, if it is safe then hunters won’t come sniffing around.”

“Didn’t seem to work too well.” Roz snickered. The wolf narrowed her eyes at the hunter, she didn’t need the condescending words. Just because she respected the hunter it didn’t mean she had to like her.

“Your brother chose this area BECAUSE it was safe and hunter free.” Robin cut in, for being socially inadequate he always knew what to say during tough times. “He is after all trying to separate himself from the others, isn’t he?”

“Only until he gets his siren under control.” Rei returned. “After that we don’t know what he plans to do.”

“We don’t want to harm him,” Ivy spat out. She knew that was what Roz was getting to. “or you,” She added. “We just want to keep this area safe.”

“Good.” Roz said crossing her arms, she wasn’t letting her guard down just yet. “What do you know about these things that attacked our groups?”

“Not much,” The alpha admitted. “We know they chased Brooks in the woods and later through town while he was with my sister.” Roz raised an eyebrow at that mention. Avery had been defensive over the words boyfriend earlier. Were he and Brooks having trouble? What the alpha’s sister to blame?

“Both times after the sun had begun to set.” Robin interrupted. “I watched them for the majority of the night, they don’t seem to like the light.” Roz pondered the information nodding. “Even though it doesn’t necessarily hurt them.”

“They did attack us in the middle of the night, we figure it was because most of us were still asleep.” She traded looks with Rei silently remembering coming to the hotel after drinking with Bea and finding the chaos.

“We just happened to be with your brother and his friends when they attacked.” Ivy continued. “There was a dead animal at his door step, we decided not to leave and then they appeared from the woods.” 

“How many?” The hunter asked. The wolf shrugged. 

“They were hidden in the woods.” She stated. “Only about six of them came after us, but there was more hidden.” 

“How many of yours were injured?” Rei asked.

“Two.” Robin answered. The hunters nodded thoughtfully, they hoped that the supplied they brought would be enough to help werewolves. “and Brooks.” Robin added. Most drugs didn’t affect wolves too much, their body naturally healed from everything.

“Okay,” Roz began. “We brought multiple things we can try on them.” Ivy’s face twitched she didn’t like the idea of hunters experimenting on her pack, least of all her little sister. 

“We will draw blood first.” Rei cut in. “Sometimes a cure for one poison can be a deadly combination for another.”

“No offense but I don’t feel very comfortable with any of you drawing blood from my pack.” Ivy admitted, it was best to get that concern out of the way now. Roz didn’t seem surprised by that statement, she had actually expected it.

“You can do it yourself,” The hunter offered. “I’ll walk you through it.”

“Mike and Avery can do it too.” Rei added. Maybe that option would make her more amiable to the action.

“Okay.” The alpha responded. She wasn’t sure which option was better but she liked that there was options. “What exactly did you bring?” She moved on. Rei placed a folded piece of paper on the table and slid it closer to her. 

“It’s a list of all of the remedies and things of that nature that hunters in our roster have dealt with successfully.” He explained as the wolves looked at the list of names. Some of the names were common herbs, some were unrecognizable names to them. 

Ivy had one more question that she had to ask. “Is there a chance that none will work on them?” Roz nodded, a solemn look overtook her face. 

“There is a chance that none of our hunters have dealt with these specific creature, or their poisons.” The hunter admitted. “But it is something for us to start with.” The alpha nodded silently. She didn’t want to consider that her pack might not recover from their ailments. She wouldn’t let herself think about it, she had to put her faith in something, even if it was a bunch of hunters. 

“Okay how soon do you think we can start this?” She asked handing Rei the list back. “I have a feeling that these things will be back at night.” The two hunters nodded, it was no surprise to them. That was what most supernatural creatures did. They snarl and return, it’s in their nature.

“As soon as Avery says it’s time for us to leave.” Roz said looking back to the kitchen door. She didn’t want to admit it to anyone but she was looking forward to seeing where her brother had been living. He was the first of their family line (as far as she knew) that had strayed from the hunting world. She looked around the restaurant inspecting every detail. It was somewhat impressive that Mike and Avery managed to keep the place in business considering they had no business education in their backgrounds. The place was cute and warningly welcoming. There was not very many places like that in the city, it was a nice divergence to busy Chicago life. She had no idea how he and the others had managed to make a home in such an eventless place. She watched the waitress with the southern accent unlock the doors to the public. It was just before 7:30, breakfast time. “Hopefully soon, so we can be out of the staff’s hair before a lot of people start coming in.” She spotted the first car pulling into the parking lot. 

“This is one of Clear Waters’ only breakfast places,” Robin said watching the elderly couple exit their car. The four of them were focused on the couple. “It gets pretty busy during those hours.” A second car turned in to the parking lot. 

“No kidding.” Roz whispered to herself. She had never been a “let’s go get breakfast” type of person. She had no interest in being around people like that either. Avery peeked out from behind the kitchen door. The smell of food wafted out towards the four. The sounds of pots and pans clanking followed the scents.

“Just one more minute guys.” He informed. “We are just packing everything up.” The four nodded at him, and started to gather themselves to leave.  
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The ride back to Avery’s home was quiet but thankfully quick. Robin eyed the Styrofoam containers the entire drive there, his werewolf senses made the food irresistible in a confined space, the small care made it impossible for the large wolf not to think about it. It was a relief when Ivy finally set the car in park and they could get out into the fresh air. Roz pulled her SUV in as far as she could into the drive way. Wren’s car looked comically small next to Roz’s SUV. The group gathered behind the SUV to help carry all of the equipment inside. Avery gathered the food and started to head inside. He figured that with two werewolves helping he was not needed. He stopped when he noticed the tree closest to the house. It was completely white. 

“Guys.” He called to the others. “Look.” The entire tree was wrapped in what looked like webs. He set the containers down on the porch and moved closer to the tree. The webs were thick and shiny, it looked like fishing wire. He pulled the broken piece of wood from the porch. He didn’t know what the fishing wire stuff actually was, he was not going to touch it with his bare hands. He reached forward with the piece of wood to see how strong the wire was. He moved slowly. He was preparing himself incase anything jumped out at him from within the tree. He steadied his heart beat as he moved forward. He didn’t want to give whatever was inside any indication that he was getting nearer, or that he was scared at finding out what was there. The wood was inches away from the fishing wire-like material.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Roz’s unyielding voice startled him away from the tree. He instinctively held the broken piece of wood out to defend himself. He waited for a few seconds incase anything inside the cocooned tree decided to attack. “Avery?” She sounded just like their mother when she used to scold them when they were little.

“I was just trying to see what this stuff was?” He explained pointing to the fishing wire-like substance. 

“And have something jump out at you?” She shook her head at him and set the box in her hands on the ground a few feet away. “With nobody for back up?” She continued scolding. Avery sighed trying not to roll his eyes so hard they fell out of his head. “I thought you were smarter than that.” There was no sense of teasing in her voice like usual. It was what they did, no matter how angry they might be at each other they always played around-they were siblings after all. But not this time, it looked to Avery like their bickering was already starting, and they hadn’t been together more than an hour. 

“So cover me then.” He scoffed at her. He steadied himself and took a step forward. Roz took the safety off of her pistol and aimed it towards the tree. Bea came up behind Roz with her gun out and aimed at the tree as well. Avery thrusted the pointed end of the wood into the cocoon. He had anticipated the cocoon to be hard top pierce. The woods sunk into it like it was water. The webbed substance shriveled away from the piece of wood. It curled into itself hissing and sizzling at the edges. The burning smell was pungent and overwhelming Avery’s senses. 

“What the hell is this stuff?” Ivy asked from behind Roz. She had handed the things she was carrying in to Robin. The large wolf stood behind her with a tower of boxes in his arms. 

“I don’t know.” The siren responded watching the cocoon continue to open itself up. He couldn’t imagine how the wolves were managing to stand so close to the burning substance, if his eyes were starting to water theirs must be burning. “I don’t think there is anything in there.” He stepped closer to look inside. He could see that the leaves inside the cocoon were already dying. He used the piece of wood to force the cocoon further open. 

“How did you guys miss this when you left for the restaurant?” Rei asked moving closer. He and Avery stood shoulder to shoulder leaning to look inside. Whatever was inside smelled of pure rot.

“Well we were busy trying to make it to the car in one piece.” Avery responded. “We didn’t know if these things were waiting to ambush us.” He pushed the piece of wood farther into the cocoon. The surface of the cocoon ruptured opened spilling a large shape unto the ground. It was bloody and gruesome. The smell of rotten flesh travelled through the air instantly. Rei pulled Avery away from the tree causing the younger man to fall on his butt. Avery didn’t take his eyes off of the mangled figured, he had seen something similar to it before. Both Roz and Bea stepped forward shooting at the large shape. The sounds of the guns was loud and deafening. The shape remained unmoving on the ground. “Wait!” Avery pushed himself off of the ground. He put his hand on his sister’s arm to stop her. “It’s already dead.” He whispered. 

“What is going on?!” Mike shouted from the porch. She and Stormy looked confused to find the others surrounding the tree. Mike held her computer in her hands. Avery hid a smile from his face when he saw she was wearing her glasses. She hated wearing them, she didn’t want to reinforce the Asian stereotypes, such as being really smart. Even she was actually very smart. He turned back to the dead figure in front of him.

“It’s another warning.” Avery responded looking down at the mauled animal. “It’s a dead deer.” He looked to the others. “Let’s get inside to map out a plan.” He motioned for the wolves to continue carrying everything inside. “We need to be ready for another attack tonight.” He stood looking down at the mangled carcass. It’s skin was ripped to shreds. Clumps of fur were matted down with thick coagulated blood. It’s insides were starting to seep out of its wounds. He took a deep breath, he realized everything was going to get worse. He might have brought the others to join him in a blood bath. 

“First a raccoon and now a deer?” Roz asked from behind him. She was unmoved at the sight of the distorted animal. He nodded. 

“And since when the hell do you shoot at something before figuring out what it is?” He hissed turning back to the house. It was on the first things they were taught in training. “It could have been a person.” He mumbled. His sister didn’t respond, she just followed him into his home. Roz had to admit that she was impressed with the home Avery and the others had. It was welcoming and warm. She wasn’t used to places like that. Major cities were filled with too many public places to feel warm and cozy, everyone was always in a hurry to get somewhere. Roz felt uncomfortable being there. 

Avery rushed to the kitchen to set the food down, he wanted to look over Brooks. The three wolves were still where they had been left resting. Stormy was in the middle of changing Shiloh, Avery tried to ignore the fact that he was being changed into some of his clothes. Mike followed him with her computer in hand.

“I’m pretty sure I found out what these things are.” She stated lifting her glasses to the top of her hair. She had pulled it back into a messy bun. She still had her make-up from the night before on, she had tried to wipe it off but some color was still faded on her face.

“Really?” He asked unpacking the containers. Mike set the computer down on the counter and started getting dishes and utensils out of the cabinets nearby. “Good.” He sighed. “Hopefully knowing will help us with curing them.” He looked down into the hall, he could partially see Brooks still asleep. He wished he could fast forward through everything and get the wolf to better health already. 

“I think it might actually make it a bit more difficult.” She bit her lower lip. “The different venoms are kind of deadly to each other.” Avery took a deep breath, that was not what he was hoping to hear.

“Okay,” He said thinking over the information. “Help me serve all of this stuff to everyone then you can brief us all on what we are dealing with.” Robin walked into the kitchen and started helping them to divide the food. The three moved quietly back and forth. Roz watched from the living room. Her brother moved so easily and comfortably amongst the werewolves. It didn’t look right to her. She knew how he felt about Brooks but he knew as much as she did that hunters and werewolves were not suitable for each other in the long run. She had hoped that Brooks was just a phase for him and that it would have worn out quickly. There was plenty of hunters and non-hunter humans for him to choose from in Chicago, male and female. She needed to speak to him about this, set him straight. 

“Here, Roz.” Avery said walking by and handing her a disposable plate. There was all types of breakfast foods on it: eggs, bacon, hash browns, tiny crepes, and some fruit. He had stuck a spork into the eggs. “There is orange juice and coffee on the counter for whoever wants some.” He continued walking balancing three more plates, a skill he learned by being a waiter. He handed a plate to Rei and then Bea and Maja. Robin and Mike stepped into the living room carrying more food for the others. Avery sat down next to Brooks placing the back of his hand on the wolf’s forehead. Brooks looked up at him groggily, his eyes were glazed over. The blond man fought through the pain to smile up at the hunter.

“Missed you.” He whispered, his voice was deep and raspy. Avery shushed him smiling back at him. 

“I got some food here for you.” Avery informed him. He had made sure to bring some fruit yogurt for the three injured wolves. It was the only thing that didn’t require chewing, aside from applesauce. “You want to try and eat?” He asked placing his plate on the bed. Brooks struggled to lift himself into a sitting position. He moaned in pain with every movement he made. Avery winced feeling the pain but he refused to let the wolf know, he was sure what he was feeling was nothing compared to Brooks. The siren scooted closer to the wolf and put the first spoonful to his lips. 

“Maybe you should eat first.” Roz said to her brother. She was sitting at the bottom of the stairs with Rei. “It might be better for him to eat after we figure out how to heal him.”

“I’m fine.” Avery responded focusing on the wolf. “He needs energy to be able to fight this off long enough for us to heal him.” He waited patiently to see if Brooks would be able to swallow the yogurt. He had brought napkins as well in case he couldn’t. “Besides we don’t know how long it will be before we can cure them.” He smiled down at Brooks trying to encourage him. 

“Avery, I really think you need to eat…” Roz began.

“I’ll eat later.” Avery interrupted sternly. His sister may be in charge of the hunters but she was not in charge of whatever was going on between him and Brooks. He could see that she didn’t like that response but it didn’t matter to him.  
“Mike can you please tell us all what you found in your computer?” He asked trying to shift everyone’s attention from the sibling tension. Mike nodded. She was sitting on the ground with her computer in front of her. 

“I think we are dealing with Arachnes.” She said out loud. The hunters all nodded in unison, not one of them had dealt with an Arachne but they knew of them. The wolves all looked confused. “They are venomous spider type creatures.” She was speaking to the wolves.

“There is different types of them.” Avery added.

Mike nodded along. “Three to be exact.” She continued. “Each with a different toxin.” The entire room’s eyes were on her. “The first is paralytics.” She motioned to Shiloh. “No pain or nerve damage just paralysis.” Stormy took a sigh of relief running her hand through Shiloh’s hair. “The second is pain inducers.” She looked to Avery. It was the one that Brooks suffered from. “It’s kind of like a jelly fish sting, it doesn’t do nerve damage but inflicts crippling pain.” She turned to Ivy who was trying to feed Wren. “Last is the necrosis.” She stated. “It kills tissue slowly and continues spreading until the target is dead.” Ivy didn’t like the sound of that. “A human would only live about two days, with her werewolf healing Wren will be able to fight it off at least a week.”

“We will know if we can cure them by tonight.” Roz said taking a bite from her bacon. 

“You’ll have to be careful.” Mike warned. “If the venom is mixed with the wrong antidote then the blood will coagulate in minutes.” The group was silent, things were getting worse and worse as the day went on, and it was even nine in the morning yet. 

“Let’s get started then.” Roz said standing up. She had not finished her food but headed in to the kitchen with her left overs. Rei set his plate down on the steps and opened the nearest box that they had brought. He took out a series of small boxes. 

“We will need to draw enough blood from each of them to give leeway and try out different antidotes on each type.” He opened one of the small boxes and withdrew syringes from it. Avery reached out for the syringe. 

“Brooks,” He looked at the wolf. “I’m gonna draw some blood okay?” The wolf nodded slowly, he closed his eyes. Avery knew how much Brooks hated needles. Avery prepared the needle to draw blood. 

“Ivy?” Rei called to the alpha. She was still trying to decide, she didn’t have the steady hand at the moment to do it. 

“Mike?” She turned to the hunter. “Would you please?” She stood up and placed her hands on her sister’s shoulders. Mike smiled trying to calm her down.

“Sure thing.” She took another box from her brother and sat down next to Wren. 

“I can do Shiloh’s” Stormy said to Rei. He handed her a box. “My mom was nurse so I saw her do this quite a few times.” She sat down next to the paralyzed wolf. She moved fluidly like she had done it herself multiple times. “I was technically not supposed to be there with her but she couldn’t afford a babysitter, so…” She pushed the needle into his arm without a second thought. The others watched her movements in awe. 

“Wow.” Roz said from the door frame. “That’s really impressive…” She held the last part of the word waiting for someone to provide the wolf’s name. 

“Stormy.” The tiny redhead offered, her eyes still on the syringe. “And thanks.” 

Roz nodded. “Rei, Robin, please help me set up in the kitchen.” 

“If you get any blood on my counters I will kill you.” Avery warned still looking over Brooks. “I mean it Roz!” As skilled as his sister was at many things she was still a messy worker. A regular mess he could deal with but he didn’t have the stomach for cooking on counters that had been covered in people’s blood. At least Rei was a clean worker, hopefully so was Robin. He put the equipment back in the little box. He took it into the kitchen where Roz and the other had most of the things set up around his kitchen. He handed her box. She placed a piece of blue tape on top of it and wrote Brooks’s name on it. 

“Here is Wren’s.” Mike said handing another box over. Roz did the same to the second box. Ivy came in.

“I want to do this too,” She pulled her hair back into a ponytail. It looked like a big poof ball on the back of her head. “Or at least assist you while you do it.” Roz didn’t answer but she made no sign of disagreeing either. 

“What can I do?” Avery asked sitting in the nearest stool. He rested his head on his hands and watched the others set the rest of the things up.

“You,” Mike said pushing him to stand up. “Need to eat and sleep.” 

“You haven’t slept?” Roz stopped moving and glared at him. 

“I’m fine.” Avery sighed, he had heard this all before. “I want to make sure Brooks is back to health.”

“Avery, you’re not the only one who wants him back to good health.” Mike said taking his hand and pulling him out of the room. “What do you think he would tell you to do?” That was not a fair question in his opinion. Brooks was always looking out for him and was the typical overprotective werewolf. Mike looked back at him, she actually wanted an answer.

“He would tell me that I need to eat and sleep.” He closed his mouth trying desperately not to yawn. His eyes started to water from the how strong the yawn was.

“Go upstairs and go to sleep.” Mike demanded. He shook his head, he wasn’t going to leave Brooks even if it meant he was going to sleep or eat. He pulled his jacket off and hung it on the railing at the bottom of the stairs. 

“I’m staying here with him.” He toed his shoes off before sitting down on the opposite end of the pullout sofa. Brooks moaned looking at him, his hand trembling as he reached out for him. Avery shushed him and took his hand. He could hear Wren shivering form the other couch. Avery thought to himself, he couldn’t just go to sleep with them in this much pain. While they slept they didn’t seem to be in pain. He sighed and prepared himself. It had been a while since he had sung anyone to sleep or to calm them. The last time he remembered doing it was for Mike, the wendigoes they faced like to play mind games. He started humming, his voice was wavering from being tired and hungry but he powered through it. Brooks tightened his hold on the siren. Avery kept his humming low and quiet, he knew the wolves could hear him. He closed his eyes to sense their emotions. The panic from Shiloh was starting to melt away, that was a good sign. Avery continued to hum feeling his fatigue overpowering him. He could sense the tranquility that the wolves were feeling. He had not expected his humming to help that much. He wished he had thought of it sooner. He moved slowly as he laid down not to disturb Brooks. The wolf was asleep again, his chest rising and falling evenly and calmly. Avery allowed himself to sink into the back of the sofa. He was tired. He lied to the others about it but he couldn’t lie to himself, not now that his body was finally relaxing into the bed. The others walked and whispered in the kitchen and he was sure he heard a few whispers coming from the family room. He felt himself drift off to sleep in minutes.


	12. Engraved Initials

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hunters and wolves work to heal their wounded. But something from the hunters past comes charging their way. Could the whole attack really be an inside job? If so who could it be?

Chapter 11: Engraved Initials

He could feel his senses coming to. He was waking up, he didn’t want to but it was happening anyways. To be fair it was actually Mike that woke him up. His body felt stiff, and slightly sore. He wanted to keep sleeping but there was too much noise.

“No! No! No!” Avery could hear Mike repeating and running down the stairs quickly. He had told her not to do that multiple times, she had fallen down them just as many times. He blinked his eyes open slowly. He was prepared for the sunlight to stab his eyes. Thankfully the curtains were still closed so the living room was dimly lit. He hummed lazily and rubbed his eyes to try to wake up. Several people were speaking angrily from the other room. It was probably Roz and Ivy butting heads finally. He had hoped that they could play nice for a few hours without him to buffer for them. Hoping had not really worked for him lately. He grunted and pushed himself up. The weight of Brooks’s arms kept him down. He had not noticed that the wolf was draped over him.

“Just ignore them.” The wolf said, his face buried into the side of Avery’s torso. He tightened his hold on his waist. The wolf didn’t seem to be in pain anymore, that was a good sign. “If they need you they will come get you.” 

“I need to make sure they don’t kill each other.” Avery groaned pushing himself up again. “Are you feeling better?” He asked prying the wolf’s muscled arm off of him. Brook nodded and shoved his face into the nearest pillow. “Look at me please.” He poked the wolf. He needed to make sure Brooks was okay. The wolf made a disgruntled sound. “Brooks, I mean it.” He stood up stretching his muscles and breathing heavily. “Have you eaten?”

“Have you eaten?” The wolf retorted finally turning his head to look at him. The color was back in his face, his eyes were back to their vibrant blue. His hair was a mess but that was not important.

“Glad you’re back to your old self.” Avery laughed grabbing his jacket off of the railing. He looked to the clock, it was already past 1 PM. He had slept for four hours. 

“It’s all gone!” He heard Mike exclaim from the other room. He ignored the rumbling in his stomach and walked through the archway into the family room. All of the hunters stood over Mike while she pushed random keys on her computer. 

“What’s going on?” Avery yawned. He rubbed his face to get himself to completely wake up. HE really wanted to go back to bed, if he went back quickly maybe the warmth he had built up would still be there.

“My computer just got wiped!” Mike answered. The screen on it was completely blue. “I left her alone with it for one second and then it went completely blue!” She pointed to Maja. 

Maja rolled her eyes at Mike. “I didn’t even touch it, she wouldn’t let me!” She defended. He had her hair pulled back in a giant bun on top of her head. “She was being really weird about me just being in her room.” At least it wasn’t Roz and Ivy fighting…silver lining?

“Oh please,” Mike snapped from her seat. “You’ve hated me forever.” That wasn’t entirely a lie. Their rivalry was not hidden from the others.

“OK guys let’s not fight right now.” Avery said pushing himself to the front of the group. He kneeled down in front of the computer and looked it over. He didn’t know much about fixing them but he figured the others knew just as little. “Let’s try the safe mode reboot thing.” Mike forced shut down the computer and let it reboot. 

“Where is Ivy?” Wren asked from the door. She looked healthier and glowing like she did before she had gotten poisoned. She was holding on to the door frame a little tightly, she wasn’t entirely back to healthy.

“I think she’s in the kitchen with Roz.” Stormy answered. She sat on the couch with Shiloh seated on the ground in front of her. She was braiding his hair. He looked much better too, even though objectively speaking he had the least deadly of the venoms in his system. 

“What the hell was all that yelling about?” Roz asked. She had her phone up to her ear. Ivy and Bea were right behind her.

“Maja wiped my computer.” Mike said. 

“Okay Mike, you can’t prove that.” Avery said placing his hand on her arm. He was aware of how much the two girls hated each other but that was not the time to bring it all up. Roz rolled her eyes at the situation. She opened her mouth to speak but a voice was heard on the other side of the phone call.

“Mom its Roslyn.” Roz held her hand out quieting the whole room. Her parents were the only people who called her Roslyn. “Yes, we are safe. You guys?” He could hear their mother speaking on the other side. It sounded like she was badgering Roz with the usual: wear a jacket, pull your hair back, and always carry a gun. He had to try hiding a smile at the thought. “Mom, we figured out the antidotes.” Roz cut her off. “Get a pen and paper so you can write down the information.” Ivy handed her a list of names, most of them crossed off. It was all of the antidotes that they had tried on the blood samples.

“Let me try something.” Maja whispered reaching for the computer. Mike shook her head.

“No you already did enough.” Mike moved it out of her reach. “Its all gone already.”

“Don’t you have a back up?” Maja asked. The tension between the two was making the others in the room uncomfortable.  
Mike laughed coldly. “Why you want to break that too?” 

“Mike, seriously?” Avery said annoyed. “You need to calm down.”

Roz covered her ear with her finger. “Guys I can't hear.” She focused on what her mother was saying on the other side of the call.

Brooks walked into the room with a plate of microwaveable burritos. “Avery you. Need to eat.” He offered the plate to the siren. Avery shook his head and set the plate down on the table away from himself. 

“I'm fine.” He moved his finger along the touch pad looking for any files on the hard drive. 

“I told you it's wiped.” Mike glared at Maja. Avery snapped his fingers at her. He highly doubted Maja did anything to it. If anything she could be the one to fix it. He remembered reading in her file that she had a degree in computer science.  
Brooks brought the burrito to Avery's face again. “Seriously eat.”

“Seriously not now.” He pushed the wolf’s hand away. He was tired of others telling him what to do.  
Robin took the plate and started devouring the burrito. Avery just smiled at the dark skinned wolf. Brooks, on the other hand, was not as happy with him.

“Hello?” Roz spoked into the phone. “Hello? Mom?” She looked over her phone it seemed fine. “I lost the call.” She sighed. “Probably because you live in the middle of nowhere.” She said rudely to her brother. She dialed again and waited for the call to go through. “I have no signal.” She said frustrated. She needed to pass the information along to the other hunters.

“Our phones work fine.” Avery handed her his phone. “Just call back.” 

“It has no signal.” Roz said holding the phone screen out towards him. Avery walked away from the table and looked over his phone. 

“That makes no sense, it always has signal.” He turned it off and back on. Most cell phone problems were fixed with a simple restart. Nothing. 

“Did you pay your phone bill?” Roz asked condescendingly. 

He glared at her. “Yes, I paid my phone bill, and don’t talk down to me.” Roz didn’t seem to like the last part of his statement, well more of a demand. He put his phone away. “Mike check your phone please.” 

“No signal either.” She handed her phone to him. She was still trying to get her computer to work. 

“If you would let me look at it.” Maja said reaching for the keyboard one more time. 

“I said no.” Mike retorted angrily. 

Roz had had it. “Mike! Maja! Would you just drop it!” She slammed Mike’s phone on the table. “Right now is not the time for petty little fights from high school! So stop bitching at each other!” Her voice carried through the house. Everyone inside stopped moving and watched her yell at the two younger hunters. 

“Roz calm down.” Avery said quietly. The last thing they needed was yet another fight within the group.  
Roz’s anger turned to her brother. “Don’t tell me to calm down!” She yelled. “Our phones are useless as is her computer! We have no way of contacting the others back home to warn them of what we are dealing with, and all they are doing is playing the blame game!” 

“Our phones are dead too.” Ivy said looking over her and her sister’s phones. 

“Someone has got to targeting us to cut us off from others.” Wren said turning off her phone and putting it back in her pocket. 

“All I got to tell them was how to cure the wounded,” Roz said taking a deep breath. She was trying to calm down but it was stressful being cut off from the world when she needed to. “But it will be useless if they don’t know what they are fighting against, odds are they are targeting them too.” The Arachnes had left before that hunters in Chicago had seen anything. The only person who had seen them was Maja and she had been too distraught to give them a detailed explanation.

“Even with all of their weapons at the facility, without the information they are defenseless.” Rei said grimly. He was right, they had to find a way to relay the information. Avery thought for a second.”

“We have the landline at the restaurant.” Avery explained to her. “We can go there and call directly to the emergency phone at the facility, it’s a landline too.” He waited for someone’s rebuttal but nobody spoke. “Mike and Maja will just have to use books to figure out a plan.”

“We were trying to figure out who was attacking the deadly dozen and why.” Maja informed. 

“We came up with nothing anyways.” Mike admitted.

“Regardless we have three deadly dozeners in grave danger, even after they are cured they will be weak.” Bea said from behind Roz. “They don’t have werewolf healing.” 

“She’s right we need to make sure that they are protected until we finish this.” Roz spoke. A loud banging was heard at the front door. Like someone had kicked the wall with all of their strength. 

“What the hell was that?” Ivy asked walking towards the door. 

“Robin, Wren come with me.” Roz said walking behind the alpha. “Everyone else stay down, stay alert.” Avery followed. “Avery stay here.”

“It’s my house Roz.” He sneered walking past her, he almost ran into Robin because they were too busy trading dirty looks. 

“I don’t hear anybody outside.” Ivy whispered, she had her eyes closed focusing everything on her hearing.

“Doesn’t mean someone isn’t there.” Wren answered looking out the sliver of window that the curtains allowed. 

“Only one way to find out.” Roz said handing her brother a pistol. She put her hand on the door knob and counted slowly, and silently to three. Avery was the first to step out with his gun aimed forward. He sidestepped to let his sister out. The two stood shoulder to shoulder sweeping the area for anything. “Nothing.” Roz whispered. She moved out to let the wolves through the door. Ivy stood at the edge of the porch. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She tried to scent if anybody was there. Avery tried to focus his senses to pick up on any strong emotions coming from the area around the house. Either his powers were off or there really wasn’t anything out there. 

“I don’t smell anything past the dead animals.” She turned to her sister who was doing the same thing. As a beta Wren had to focus harder than her alpha sister did. After a few seconds she shook her head. Avery stepped forward looking for floating lights in the shrubbery but nothing revealed itself to him. Something glistened in his peripheral vision. 

“Roz, look.” Avery pointed to the side of the house. A double edged silver dagger sat stabbed into the wall. The handle was wrapped in black leather. The blade was flawless and deadly. At the widest part of the base there was two letters elegantly engraved, AB. Avery recognized it immediately. He had eleven others exactly like them. They were a set of twelve. He had lost the twelfth almost a year prior. He was on a hunt in Colorado with his sister and the Makis siblings. Things didn’t go as planned, they lost three hunters. Kit Battaligna was holding his dagger when he disappeared. He pulled the dagger out of the wall and looked it over.

“What is it?” Wren asked looking over the dagger. 

“It’s mine.” Avery said reaching under his jacket. He lifted his shirt and revealed the other daggers strapped to his torso. “Look.” He pulled on out of the holster and held it side by side to the other. “I lost it a year ago during a hunt.”

“Whatever you hunted then is back now?” Ivy asked running her fingers over the engraving. 

Avery shook his head. “Wendigoes are not that smart.” He was right wendigoes were deadly and incredible hunters but they had not real thoughts aside from kill and eat.

“Wendigoes?” Wren exclaimed looking around. “Damn.” 

“We lost three hunters during the hunt.” Roz explained. “Two dead, one disappeared.” 

“Why would they come back to attack you?” Ivy asked. “You were on the same side.”

“Their family is convinced I had something to do with it.” Avery put the two knives in their holsters. “Even with a closed case, they’re relentless.” 

“Why would they think that you had something to do with it?” Ivy asked watching him. Avery was hiding a lot from the hunting world, was he the kind to murder if they stood in his way? 

“The royal families are very big on bloodlines.” Roz intervened. 

“I’m adopted so I’m not technically a royal.” Avery admitted. Ivy could not understand how that could possibly be a big deal. Werewolf culture was vastly different from human culture. “I was also ranked higher than them in the deadly dozen which really chapped their asses.” 

“You guys keep saying that, Deadly Dozen, what the hell is that?” The alpha asked. She felt like this was something that she should know of.

The siblings exchanged looks, they had each thought that the other explained the concept to the wolves. “Hunters send their kids to an elite school,” Roz began. “We get ranked every few years. If you rank high enough then you can try to join the deadly dozen.”

“The deadly dozen is the best of the best of up and comers in the hunting world. If you are in the deadly dozen then you will be in the hunting council, guaranteed.” Avery finished for her. The wolves looked between the two of them.

“The council people are like the rulers of all of the hunter?” Wren asked confused. She felt like the sibling were giving them too much information but not enough information at all. It was all so confusing.

“Yeah they make all the rules for the hunting families in our society.” Avery said.

“And the council hates you?” Robin asked, he had only known Avery a short time but he couldn’t see why anyone would hate him.

“Not all of them.” Roz interrupted her brother before he could answer.

“But enough of them,” Avery sighed. “Enough of them to destroy my family and everything we have if they ever found a way to frame me.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. They could see how much he blamed himself for the trouble it could cause for others just by being alive. “Or if they ever found out that I’m not entirely human.” He whispered the second part of his statement. 

“Do you think that these hunters are the one’s after you?” Ivy asked. He shrugged.

“I can’t think of anyone else.” He looked to his sister as if she would have an answer for him.

The alpha sighed, even if she wanted to get out of this she had made an alliance pact with the hunter. “Okay, so let’s go into town and try to contact your parents then we will figure the rest out.” It was a giant relief for Avery to hear her words. If she wanted to Ivy could destroy his life and everything his family had worked for with one word. Avery and Roz nodded simultaneously and went back inside the house. They both armored themselves with a few more weapons before leaving. 

“Our back up computer is wiped too.” Mike huffed out from the couch. She stood and walked over to Avery. He was busy looking through their weapons. “This has to be an inside job. Whoever is doing this is targeting us specifically, including the wolves.”

“The hunters in Chicago don’t even know these wolves exist.” Avery said realizing Mike might have a point. 

“The only person here who is good with computers is Maja.” She continued whispering. “Her family hates mine. The Battligna’s hate yours.” She reminded.

“Our families are allied through Rei and Roz.” Avery thought out loud. Their sibling were dating, just like royalty in Europe that made their families allies. 

“Maybe they allied with each other.” Mike added. 

“Keep an eye on her. Keep Stormy at your side.” He ordered. “If you’re right then we cant leave her alone.” She nodded and went to find Stormy. “Let’s go.” He waited for Roz, Ivy and Wren to meet him at the door so that they could leave. 

“If these are really Arachnes then it is the cedar wood that keep them out of the house.” Brooks said, he was putting the fold out beds back into couch form. “Spiders hate cedar wood. It’s gotta be what’s keeping them away.”

“The flooring?” Avery asked, he ran his hands down the new archway. “The door frames.”

“The porch.” Brooks added placing the cushions back into place. Roz nodded looking over the flooring. She kneeled and drew a small knife. “What are you doing?” The wolf asked. 

“Calm down.” Roz held her hand out. “We need to do this.” She placed her eyes on the large archway leading into the dining room. “Here we go, Robin.” She called the large wolf. She pointed to the wooded frame. “Break it.”

“No!” Brooks stepped forward. Avery placed a hand on his chest holding him back. The siren shook his head at the wolf. “But it took so long.” He whined pointing at the detailing in the arch.

“I know but either we break it or we die.” Avery explained apologetically. “I’m sorry.” He ran his hand down the wolf’s arm to soothe him. Brooks leaned into the siren, he didn’t need the physical comfort but this was the most affection Avery had shown to him when he wasn’t dying. Brooks nodded to Robin. The dark skinned wolf tore the majority of the cedar frame in one move. 

“Wouldn’t it be better to break it off the porch?” Wren asked pointing outside. “It’s already broken.”

“These things don’t know that we know what they are weak against.” Roz explained. Robin handed her a piece of wood. “If they see the porch broken into pieces they might catch on to us, right now this is our secret weapon.” Wren nodded, it made sense. “Everyone take a piece of wood and sharpen it, we will use them as weapons.” Roz said taking a large piece from Robin. “Nobody is to fight hand to hand unless it is absolutely necessary.” The last things that they needed was more people getting poisoned. She handed Ivy the next piece of wood. “Understood?” She looked to the wolves. She highly doubted that they knew how to effectively use weapons. The wolves looked at the pieces of wood slightly confused. 

“Just stab them, there is no real method to it.” Avery laughed pretending to stab the air in front of him. 

“We should go though.” Roz said putting the piece of wood under her jacket. She looked over the wolves, the only one with a jacket was Robin, and it was Avery’s jacket. “Do we have jackets to put on them?” She asked looking to Mike and her brother. Wearing leather jackets not only looked cool in Roz’s opinion but it kept them safer in fights. Even with their werewolf healing they could use an extra layer to protect them from the arachne’s claws. 

“We can find something.” Mike said finally closing her laptop defeated. Everything she had for information, music, videos, pictures, it was all lost. “Everybody upstairs.” She motioned to those who were not leaving to the restaurant. 

“Ivy, Wren…” Roz said turning to one of her bags. “I think I have something that will fit you.” The two wolves stood waiting as she pulled what seemed like endless amounts of clothing out. How many days had she planned to stay in town? “Here we go.” She tossed two matching jackets one in grey and one in slightly darker grey. Avery hid a laugh at her, she had to have it in every color-as long as it was grey or black. The wolves slipped the jackets on and hid the wooden pieces underneath like Roz had. 

“Can we go now?” Avery asked impatiently from the door.


	13. Shimmering skin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hunters and Wolves go to the restaurant to contact home from the land line but things don't go over well for Avery.

Chapter 12: Shimmering Skin

The restaurant was filled with people eating their lunch. The dining area was loud, people laughed and spoke with each other over various foods. Avery was the first in the door since he was the only one who actually knew where everything was. He smiled at how well the business was doing even without him and Mike there. He knew he had made a great choice leaving Jerilyn in charge. A family of four walked past them and out the door. The parents smiled at Avery, they were regulars. An elderly couple sat at the first booth arguing over the menu prices. Avery quickly moved to them and showed them the senior menu. That seemed to calm them down. One of the bad things about working with the public was that they had a lot of emotions, emotions a siren could pick up on and feel. He hated feeling their anger and annoyance, it was best to make them happy. He continued moving forward and took the girls to the bar stool area, it was in the middle of the dining hall so it was perfect for them to keep an eye out for anything. They weren’t going to let their guard down just because they were in a public place in the middle of the day.

“I doubt they will attack us here but stay out in the dining area in case we need to protect these people.” Avery whispered to the three women with him. He looked around to the people in the tables and booths, nobody seemed to stand out to him in a threatening manner. “I’ll go call mom and dad.” He patted the piece of wood in his jacket, it calmed him down just reminding himself that he had it. 

“Avery?” He heard a smooth baritone voice say from behind him. Roz’s eyebrows knitted together almost in confusion when she saw who was speaking. He already knew who it was, that voice was hard to forget. He turned to see the handsome Latino man from table seven. He smiled at Avery, he was impeccably dressed just like he had been the last time they met. The man looked him up and down as if politely judging every single thing about him. The man’s skin looked golden in the afternoon light that filtered through the large windows. His dark hair shone beautifully. 

“Umm, hello.” Avery said moving back slightly. There was something about the man that made him uncomfortable. He didn’t like being looked at so closely. The only people that looked at him that closely were usually out to hurt him. “I’m sorry, I can’t speak right now.” Avery stammered avoiding complete eye contact with the man, he set his eyes on the man’s dark eyebrows instead. He figured it was close enough to his eyes to avoid looking like a Spaz.

“I see,” The man smiled. A charming smile, almost practiced like the smile a beauty queen might have. “You’re attention is with these three beautiful women.” He nodded at the three girls behind him. Ivy smiled, she felt herself blush at the man’s attention. Wren and Roz traded looks, the man was very handsome and charming but they did not have time for him right now. Roz took a second to pull herself together before she spoke.

“Hi, I’m Roz.” She introduced herself stepping forward. She tilted her head to the side, her hair waved slightly with the movement. She had done this many times before. She had used her feminine charms to get whatever she needed. At the moment she needed the man to leave her brother alone so that he could call home. “Are you from here?” She asked, she was putting on her best face to take the man’s attention away from her brother. The man smiled at her nodding, clearly her routine was working. Men were so easy to manipulate. “I love your suit jacket.” She reached out and caressed the fabric on his arm. 

Avery took his queue slip past the man and headed towards the back of the dining hall. He needed to make his way into the office so he could call the hunters in Chicago. He pulled his phone out and pretended to speak into it. If he looked like he was busy then people were less likely to stop him. The kitchen was busy and loud as usual. His stomach growled at the smell of fresh food. He really needed to eat. He promised himself he’d grab something on the way out and pushed the thoughts of food to the back of his mind. He smiled and waved at the cooks when he finally reached the office door. He slipped in and closed the door behind him. It felt like he had accomplished some huge task just getting into the office.

He took a sigh of relief. The scent crashed into him instantly. He stumbled backwards clinging to the wall as if he could hold on to it. The scent was everywhere, floating around the room. His breathing became jagged, his vision blurry. He figured it was the lack of eating that were making him more and more sensitive to his siren powers. And he was definitely sensitive to that particular scent. He knew that scent, he’d been enveloped in that scent before. Lust. Not just any lust. Brooks’s lust. Brook’s had been here with her, with Wren. This was where they had been when Brooks betrayed his trust. His heart dropped again at the though. His stomach felt empty, but he wanted to vomit at the same time. He could see the floating lights of their desire lingering on the sofa just inches away from him. He used the last of his will power to move himself away from the source of the scent. He had not realized he had started crying. The whole ordeal with the Arachnes made him forget of what had happened the morning before. The way he felt when he saw them together, the way he felt his heart break in two at the sight of them together. He kept moving until his back hit the edge of the desk. He needed to find a way away from the scent. He crawled underneath the desk. It was wooden and only about a month old. It still smelled like the lemon furniture polish they had used on it when they bought it. It didn’t completely cover their scent but it was enough for him to clear his mind. He reached out and padded his hand around the top of the desk until he found the telephone. He pulled it underneath with him and put the receiver up to his face. He knew the landline number by heart, he dialed and waited for the other end to ring. 

“Bishops downtown estates.” A female voice answered. It was the name of his parent’s business. The bottom part of the building was their training facility. The rest was high end lofts where people lived. 

“Extension 1988 please.” Avery said.

“Sure thing.” She put him on hold. Most of the extensions were only three digits long, the four digit ones were for hunting purposes. Whoever the girl on the other side was she was a trained hunter like him. He sat waiting for a minute before someone picked up on the other side. 

“Hello.” It was a woman, he recognized the voice but he wasn’t sure who it was. 

“Who is this?” He asked. Only a few people were allowed to answer the phone in his father’s office. 

“Who is this?” The voices asked condescendingly. As if he had reached that particular landline by mistake. 

“I called to speak to my father, where is he?” He decided to cut right to the point, he really needed to speak to him.

“Avery?” The girl asked. “You sound so different over the phone. But then again it’s been a while since we spoke at all.” He knew who it was now. Florence. Florence Battaligna. He remembered his silver dagger on the side of the house. 

“Flo what are you doing in my dad’s office?” He asked.

“I’m on intel duty.” She responded. “With the whole chaotic thing going on. They won’t tell me much but he asked me try and find the security tapes from the night at the hotel.” He could hear the keyboard clicking.

“He let you use his computer?” His dad never let anyone use his computer, aside from his mother. He highly doubted that his father would let Flo use his computer.

“No,” She sighed. “I’m on my laptop, but I need to be here for when people call.” 

“Can you get him please?”

“He’s looking over the security plans with my father.” She said. “They think we might get attacked again.”

“That’s why I need to talk to him.” He tried to keep his calm but he really wanted to get out of the office as soon as possible. 

“He said nobody was to disturb him.”

“Then get my mom!” He said sternly. “I don’t care, I need to talk to one of them.”

He heard her scoff at him, he really had no time for that. “Hold on.” She put him on hold again. He sighed and hit his head against the side of the desk lightly multiple times. Was nothing going to go his way? He needed to get the thought of Brooks and Wren on his office couch. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on anything but that. It felt like he had been waiting for much longer than he should have been. He tried to focus on the instrumental music that played. He hoped that it would calm him down, he had noticed that music helped calm him down ever since he had discovered his powers. He had researched everything he could about sirens. Problem was that not many hunters had dealt with sirens directly, turns out sirens are not big trouble makers in the supernatural world. Most of his knowledge was from pure trial and error. 

“Avery?” He recognized his mother’s voice instantly. It helped pull him away from Brooks’s and Wren’s scents swirling around the room. He smiled at the sound of her voice, his mother was helping him and she didn’t even know it.

“Mom.” He whispered. He had a job to do, he needed to focus. “Are you alone?” He couldn’t have anyone overhearing, especially not Flo.

“Yes, why are you whispering?” She asked. He felt silly, he was whispering because he was not sure if the phone was tapped or not. Her question made him realize that whispering would make no difference.

“Sorry,” He said shaking his head to clear it up. His mother’s voice apparently wasn’t enough to clear it up completely. “Listen mom, my missing throwing dagger showed up.”

“What throwing dagger.”

“The one I lost in Colorado last year.” He reminded. “The one Kit had.” She should have known which one he was talking about. She and his father had bought the set for him for his birthday.

“I don’t understand.” She sounded confused, he assumed that she would be at first. 

“Someone threw it at my house as a threat.” He said. “Mom only hunters know about that incident.” Incident was putting it lightly. 

“You think this whole thing is an inside job?” Good she was catching on. 

He nodded excitedly, as if she could see. “Yeah, whoever it is cut off all of our phones and computers.” He paused for a second, he wasn’t sure if he should say anything more. “Even the werewolves’ phones.” He spilled the second part slowly. He wasn’t entirely sure how okay his parents were with him mingling with supernatural creatures, even if he was one himself. He waited for her to lecture him about it.

“How would a hunter know you guys are working with werewolves?” She asked, she didn’t seem angry about it. “Yes we know about your werewolf boyfriend, Avery.” She sighed after a few seconds. “All of these great hunters and you choose a werewolf.” She nagged at him. Maybe he hadn’t escaped a lecture after all.

“Focus.” He pleaded. She made a grunting noise, he was going to hear about this the next time they saw each other. “We think that someone we know is somehow controlling the arachnes.

“Wait it was Arachnes?” She asked, the word put a sense of urgency in her voice. 

“Yes mom it was Arachnes, hence the venoms. You need to tell dad and the others in case they attack again.” 

“You think hunters are controlling the Arachnes?” She asked.

“I think the Battaligna’s are.” Now that he had said it out loud he realized just how impossible that was. “I don’t know how though.”

“Arachnes don’t work with humans, they’re too feral for that.” His mother informed. She was the intel gatherer when she and his father hunted anything, she would know about Arachnes.

“Maybe they are working with someone who can control them.” He sighed. “It’s kind of hard to come up with a real plan without our computers. Mom please just keep your eyes out, tell dad.” 

“Okay,” She responded. “Honey you sound tired, are you sleeping enough?” Great he couldn’t escape people trying to tell him what to do. He knew she was just doing what all good mothers did but it was still annoying. 

“I’m fine, thank you.” He tried to keep any bit of annoyance from his voice, he didn’t want a lecture. “Mom, please just watch your back okay?” He sighed, he needed to hear her agree. He knew his parents and the other hunters in Chicago could take care of themselves but he still worried. That’s what you do for people you love. He waited for her response. She was unusually silent, it wasn’t like her. Every time he had spoken with her he would notice all the little sounds she made. “Mom?” Still no answer, no sound. “Hello? Mom?” The dial tone beeped in response. “Damn it!” He hissed. He hung up the phone and redialed. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon.” He tapped his fingers on the wall of the desk impatiently. Dial tone. “Shit!” He snarled at the phone. He needed to make sure that his mother would convey the information. Whoever was cutting them off from their connections knew about the restaurant. 

The clock on the phone said it was almost three in the afternoon. They needed to get back to the house and try to come up with a plan of attack for the inevitable fight that was going to happen that night. The siren took a deep breath before crawling out from underneath the desk, the last thing he needed was to have another break down from the pheromones in the air. He put his shirt over his mouth just in case. The clicking of the door behind him had never sounded so soothing to him before. He let his head fall forward in a mixture of relief and defeat. He couldn’t escape it, he had been using the whole Arachne ordeal as a way to avoid dealing with what Brooks had done. He didn’t want to deal with it, he didn’t want to cut things off with Brooks. Being in his office forced him to feel what Brooks had done again, if he went home he would have to see Brooks and deal with it. 

“Avery can i talk to you?” Jerilyn’s charming southern twang tore through his melancholy thoughts. “There is something wrong with the dishwasher,” She was playing with her hands, she was nervous. Maybe she thought that he would be angry at her. It couldn’t possibly be her fault that the dishwasher wasn’t working. 

“I’ll look at it but if I can’t fix it in the next few minutes we’re just going to have to call someone okay?” He pulled back the sleeves on his jacket as best as he could and headed into the back room. The dishwasher was in the room behind the kitchen. 

“Where is Isaiah?” Avery asked looking into the room. Isaiah was the dishwasher for the restaurant, he was a college kid who commuted to school about an hour away. The room was empty, the dishwasher was still rumbling. He could see a load of dishes inside it moving slowly as the machine power washed it. The steam in the room began collecting on his cool skin almost immediately. 

“Isaiah is on his last break before the big batch of closing dishes comes his way.” Jerilyn responded. Even through the rumbling from the machine he heard her close the door behind her.

“The machine looks fine?” Avery said looking closer into the window. The power washers were blasting and spinning like they usually did. He checked the rinse sink, the spray hose was working fine as well. “What is wrong with it?” He turned leaning his hip on the edge of the rinse sink. Jerilyn stood looking at him steadily. 

“I know what you are Avery Bishops.” Her voice was different, deeper, and raspier. She turned her head slightly, a reptilian movement as she studied him. She took a step closer to him, running her fingers along the stainless steel. Her movements were different. Jerilyn was usually jittery and bouncy. Now she was smooth and seductive, something Avery never thought he’d see her do. “I don’t like you bringing these things into my territory.” Her southern accent was not as strong as it usually was. It was replaced by a Midwestern monotone voice.

“What things?” He moved his hand backward slowly until his finger found a handle. He hoped it was the handle to a heavy pan. 

“Do you people have to destroy anything you come in contact with?” She asked. Avery didn’t answer, mostly because he had no idea what she was talking about. He looked behind her hoping to see an easy way out of the room but the only exit was the door she had closed. “First the settlers run my people out of our lands and force us to walk here.” Her features were angry and vengeful, a major difference to her usual perky smile. She kept moving forward slowly.

“Your lands?” He was buying himself time, he didn’t care what her lands were, or who his people were. Whatever she was talking about, whatever she was planning was not good. He gripped the handle tightly. He hoped he wouldn’t have to swing it at her, but the way she was talking made him feel like it was going to happen.

“Yes, our lands!” She growled. Literally growled. Maybe he would have to swing it at her after all. “Where my people lived in peace! Until the Europeans came along.” Her people? Europeans, she was white, red haired, and hazel eyed. There was no way that she could be Native American. “So I assimilated and...changed.” She insinuated to her body gritting out the last word of her sentence as if it physically hurt her to say it. As if the word change was not fitting for the words she really wanted to say. “I was fine.” She continued. “As much as I hated it.” The parts of the stainless steel that she had touched had deep scratches left on the surface. He could see her claws elongating menacingly, the scratches on the steel were nothing compared to what the newly revealed claws could do. “And now a siren shows up and brings all of this mess with him?” That took him by surprise, how could she know what he was. “Oh I knew from the moment I met you.” She hissed.

“Talons.” Avery whispered to himself. He started sifting through the possibilities of what she could be. He had to analyze everything he knew about her. “Native American.” He added to the list that narrowed down the possibilities. She had stopped approaching him. She tilted her head still examining him. 

“At first I didn’t mind you, using your powers to flirt extra tips out of people.” She admitted, her voice was almost back to normal, aside from the southern accent. Her face however was still sour and angry. “Then you used your powers to bring those things.”

“Power sensing.” He added to his list of creature features. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He was trying to buy more time for himself. Fighting whatever Jerilyn was in such a closed space would not be easy. 

“I know what you are!” She yelled slamming her fist on the table. Her eyes flashed brightly like lightning was trapped in her eyes. Avery had to focus on the list he had in his head to avoid feeling Jerilyn’s anger. A wave of steam blew from the dishwasher misting over Jerilyn. Her skin shimmered in the fog. Not in a romantic way, but the way a reptile’s skin would. 

“Reptilian skin.” He whispered to himself. There wasn’t many things that she could be. Luckily for him he had brushed up on his Native American mythology. Ever since he and his sister had dealt with the nightmares called Wendigoes he figured it might be important, considering they lived in the U.S. 

“I have worked too hard to protect this area to let you and your boyfriend mess it all up.” 

There was that word again. “He’s not my boyfriend.” He corrected her. He hadn’t realized that he was holding the frying pan out at her. She smiled looking at the frying pan.

“Big, bad siren is using a frying pan to protect himself?” She teased him stepping forward. “Why don’t you use your powers on me like you’ve been using them on everyone else?” The lightning bolts returned to her eyes. She had used that word twice.

Protect. 

The word ignited a fire in Avery’s mind. A reptilian creature that protected the land in Native American Lore. 

“Piasa.” He said out loud. “The Illini Dragon.” Jerilyn flinched at the mention of her name. “That’s what you are right?” He demanded an answer. He pointed the pan at her in an accusatory gesture. 

“You don’t know what I am!” She growled lunging at him. Her claws were fully elongated, her fair skin had shifted to the scaly, shimmering black he had seen in the steam. The lightning at full force in her glare at the siren. Avery braced his legs and swung the frying pan upwards hitting her on the chin. He heard her fangs crack in the collision. He pushed his disgust at the crunching sound away and stayed focused, he could not afford to lose his guard. Piasa lost her balance and fell forward, her jaw slacked open at a low angle. There was no doubt in Avery’s mind that he had done some real damage. He wasted no time and brought the frying pan back down as hard as he could, he felt his feet slip a few inches. The pan came into contact with her shoulder blades forcing her flat unto the ground. He had not realized that frying pans made such great weapons, he considered trying to put it under his jacket but dropped it on the ground instead. Piasa mewled in pain and rolled around the ground, she was clearly not happy about her now shattered fangs. Avery stepped lightly past her and opened the door. He doubted she would attack him if others were around, if she really was the protector that she called herself. He had no idea why she though he was the one to bring the Arachnes into town, aside from the fact that they were there to kill him and Mike.

“I’ll deal with you later.” He called back to her, she had shifted back into the southern belle of a waitress. He could hear her jaw shifting back into its place, she made disgruntled noises as her bones cracked back into place. “If you hurt anyone, we will come after you.” He warned, he tried willed his energy into his eyes. He knew that sirens could make their eyes glow in a silver light but he had no control over it so far, but he was still going to try it for dramatic effect. Her eyes widened up at him, he figured he had achieved the eye effect, he couldn’t help but smile. He smoothed out his clothing and stepped out into the kitchen. The cooks were too busy focusing on their dishes to acknowledge him, he didn’t care he just wanted out.   
Confusion and panic shrouded around him the second he stepped into the dining area. Small children were crying with their parents desperately attempting to soothe them. People were murmuring from every direction. He walked further into the room cautiously taking his steps as he looked around the room. It took him a few seconds to see the up turned chairs on the other end of the room. Roz and Ivy were helping Kady-one of the waitresses-clean up food and plates off of the ground. Wren stood by the door as if she was a guard on duty. Just seeing Wren made his blood start to boil, it was like being enveloped in the scent of her and Brooks’s lust all over again. Behind her through the large window he could see a man angrily ranting to himself, that seemed to take his mind off of Wren and Brooks. The man must have been the one to make the mess. 

“What the hell happened?” He asked kneeling down to pick up the assortment of jams that now lay scattered around. 

“Two men started arguing and it got physical.” Roz informed wiping up what looked like gravy with a damp rag. “They scared everyone, it was bad.” She added. Avery though for a few seconds and turned to Kady. 

“Kady please go into the cooler and get a few of those crème pies we have there.” Kady nodded and handed him the rag she was holding. “We are going to give all of these people free dessert as an apology, I’ll take care of this, please hurry.” Kady was gone as soon as he had finished speaking. The majority of the mess was cleaned up and everything was back in its place. One of the busboys rushed out of the kitchen to take the dirty dishes away and out of site.

“Attention everybody,” Avery announced loudly to overpower all of the talking. “I want to apologize for the mess and disruption that happened here today.” The room was silent and watched him waiting to her whatever else he had to say. “Our waitresses will be giving each of you a free dessert on the house, so please enjoy and have a great day. Kady walked out of the kitchen with a tray with a variety of pies on it. She set it down on the bar and began to cut it into piece. “Okay we have to go now.” Avery whispered to his sister and Ivy. He saw Jerilyn step out into the dining room, her jaw and face completely back to normal. She smiled at him, the sweet smile she usually smiled but he knew what it meant. She looked around in confusion as if she had picked up on the disruption that had happened. Her eyes shifted around, they settled on the farthest window in the dining room. He followed he gaze. The handsome Latino man was standing there smoking leaning against his car. He seemed unmoved by the whole mess inside the restaurant. Jerilyn kept her eyes focused on him until she saw the disgruntled man walking past the window and storming down the road still ranting to himself. “Let’s go.” Avery said pulling on his sister’s hand. She following him out with the wolves close behind. The handsome man was gone by the time they were outside. Avery sighed as he lifted himself into his sister’s SUV. He had left Chicago hoping to leave the supernatural world behind, only to step into a town where there was something at every corner ready to kill him. 

“So what did they say?” Roz asked stopping at the red light just outside the restaurant. “Are they okay?”

“They’re planning out a defense and attack plan as we speak.” Avery answered. “It should be more effective now that they know what they are fighting.” He sighed. “I didn’t get to speak much though,” He added. “they cut the call off, whoever did it know about the restaurant and maybe the facility.”

“Who do you think it is?” She asked. 

“Flo was the one who answered the phone.” Avery revealed. “She went to school for computer programming stuff she could be doing this.” Roz didn’t answer, her eyes were focused on the road in front of her but he knew she was mulling the information over. “It would make sense, the dagger from a year ago, the computer crashes, and the phones.” He paused for a second. “I can’t think of anyone else aside from Maja but I ordered Mike to keep an eye on her nonstop.”

“So what you’re saying is that we are going into this basically blind?” Ivy asked from the back seat. Avery nodded. 

“We’re on our own.” He answered keeping his gaze forward. He didn’t know what they should expect.


	14. Programmed Reactions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avery and Mike forced to have conversations neither of them want to be a part of. Avery crosses I line he never thought he would cross.

Chapter 13: Programmed Reactions

Roz pulled the SUV as far into the driveway as she could. She put the vehicle in park and looked out the window. The sun was shining, it was a beautiful day, she would have usually admired it but the coming events had her thoughts elsewhere. She stepped out of the SUV and looked over the yard. The other vehicles had been moved into the garage. The wolves were all outside moving the pieces of outdoor furniture that lay in the yard. They had decided that if those things were going to attack them they needed a clear area to do it in. Brooks led them to the shack in the backyard so that they could lock it all up out of the way. Avery sat in the passenger seat motionless. His eyebrows were knitted together in deep thought. The pheromones swirling around his office replayed in a constant loop in his mind. He stared at the wolves as they stacked the furniture on top of each other. Just being within eyesight of Brooks made his anxiety start to rise. He had dreaded arriving home, all he had thought about on the ride was about what Brook’s had done with Wren in his office. It was one thing to know about it but it felt like another betrayal when he felt it with his own powers. With his powers there was no way for him to ignore it, or push it away and deal with it later. Even from afar the blonde wolf looked like a completely different person. It was a confusing feeling for the siren. He knew the man in front of him, he knew his likes and dislikes, which side of the bed he slept on, how he drank his coffee, whether he wore boxers or briefs-boxer briefs in fact. Even with everything he knew the wolf looked like a complete stranger to him. The way he moved and spoke to the other wolves seemed like a lie, that was not the Brooks he knew and had feelings for. Avery felt like an idiot, how could he have let this liar into his head. Brooks looked over at him squinting his eyes looking into the tinted windows. The wolf smiled and waved. Even his smile seemed fake to Avery. The wolf started moving towards him. Avery felt his heart drop, he didn’t want to talk to him just yet, and he didn’t know what he would say to the wolf. He hurried out of the SUV barely managing not to fall. Avery slammed the door shut and rushed inside ignoring Brooks’s voice when he called out for him. He wanted to turn back and talk to him, but he wanted to bash his face in at the same time. Honestly he just wanted to break down and cry. He could hear Brooks calling to him when he shut the front door. He sighed deeply taking a moment to regroup. Bea was the only one in the living room, she sat on the ground messing with her phone. Maybe she thought that she could fix it, he highly doubted it. He walked past her briskly before she could say anything. If anyone asked him how he was doing he knew there was no way he was going to hold it all in. The siren rushed up the stairs two at a time and straight into his room, if the others needed him they would know where to find him. He could hear Mike and Maja speaking from Mike’s room down the hall from his. He locked the door behind him glad to be alone again. He let himself sink into his bed sighing in relief, his hunger and fatigue were starting to take over him. He pulled the covers over his face. He didn’t want to think about anything. He didn’t want to speak or hear anyone else speak. In that moment the siren didn’t want to exist. He wanted a day off, he fantasized about turning off his siren powers and be normal again. Well, as normal as he possibly could be. Everything would be so much easier for him if he could just choose when he got to use his abilities. He grunted and turned over until he could bury his face into his pillow. He wanted to scream and throw things until his anger and frustration was gone. He couldn’t do that, he wasn’t going to add more stress to everyone else. He was going to do what he always did best, he was going to hold it in and deal with it later. If his powers really were based on emotions then he was going to be a freaking powerhouse by the time this was all over.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Mike sat on her bed watching over Maja as she tried to get her computer back. Maja was sure that if anyone was hacking them from the outside then there was a way that she could take back control. Luckily for the others the Hindi hunter had brought a few of her personal devices she could use. Mike watched at the dark skinned girl rummaged through her bag to find her things. Maja set aside several articles of clothing and what Mike assumed was her make up bag. Why Maja thought that she would need make up for on a hunt was beyond Mike. 

“Here you are?” Maja said lovingly to a pair of very thick platform shoes. She smiled to herself and headed back to Mike’s desk. Mike had moved all of her things from her table unto the floor next to it.

“You’re going to use shoes to fix my computer?” Mike pestered her. She may not know much about computer programming but she knew shoes were never needed for it. “What are you going to beat it up until it gives in?” She was still not entirely convinced that Maja was not responsible for all of their devices going down. She figured if she pretended to somewhat trust her maybe Maja would mess up and give herself away.

“It’s not the shoes.” Maja sneered. “It’s what is inside.” She reached into the locks of hair behind her ear and pulled out a very thin piece of metal. “I saw this online, figured I’d try it.” She pushed the metal into a tiny slit in the shoe’s heel. The heel opened easily revealing a secret compartment. Maja looked at Mike raising her eyebrows in an I told you so gesture. “I keep all of my stuff here.”

“Whoa.” Mike said moving closer, she was not expecting that. She pulled the seat from her vanity over and watched the Hindi hunter as she worked. She could definitely use some secret compartment shoes for herself.

“Nobody,” Maja warned her, her dark brown eyes stern on Mike’s face. Mike didn’t flinch at the movement. She just moved her arm backwards slowly, she kept a small dagger underneath her desk. She was ready to use it in case Maja decided to show her true colors. “…knows about these, let’s keep it that way, please.” The word please was just a courtesy word, Mike knew that the statement had been an order. She sighed in relief and nodded in agreement when Maja turned back to her computer. She watched Maja take out several routers and input devices, she had no idea what any of them did but she was entranced just watching how fluid Maja was with all of it. This all seemed so natural to the Hindi hunter, second nature. 

“Do you need the wifi password?” Mike asked pulling out on of her small notebooks from the small drawer under the desk. It was where she wrote all of her information down. 

“Wendigoessuck95?” Maja said still focused on connecting her things up. Mike looked down at her notebook, Maja was right.

“Did Avery tell you?” Mike asked confused. Closing her notebook and putting it back in its place.

Maja laughed, genuinely laughed, it was the first time that Mike had seen her do it. “Mike, this is what I do.” She typed in her computer password. “I hacked your wifi the second I got into range.”

“That’s so cool.” Mike whispered to herself, aside from research and video streaming she didn’t know much about technology. She was genuinely impressed. 

“Whoever is hacking us, is assuming that we don’t know how to hack them back.” Maja typed in what seemed like a bunch of random number and letters. She clicked her tongue for a few seconds before typing something else. One of her router looking things started making sounds, a bright green light blinked multiple times. 

“What is it doing?” Mike asked moving closer. Maja shushed her and motioned for her to move back. It was hard for her to completely focus with Mike crowding her. 

“Whoever is doing this is really good,” Maja said typing again. “almost like they went to school for it.” Her eyes burrowed together. She continued to type in different series of numbers and letters. Mike thought about her words, like they went to school for it. They knew someone who went to school for that.

“Like Florence?” Mike asked. She side eyed Maja she wanted to see her reaction, it could be her chance to catch the Hindi hunter working against them. Maja didn’t really respond.

“Do you think it’s her?” Maja asked looking over at her. “I mean I knew the Battaligna’s hated the Bishopss and now your brother but why would they go after me and the other new inductees?” The computer screen went black for a second before turning on again. Both girls turned their attention to the computer waiting silently for a few seconds. “I think I got it!” Maja cheered typing with more vigor. 

“We’re in?” Mike asked. Maja nodded excitedly. 

“Some of the files are still locked.” Maja explained opening folders on the desktop. “But I should be able to get into them within a few minutes.” She opened a program from her own removable hard drive and typed in the password. The program started to force open the blocked files. Mike watch the little icons moving back and forth on the screen.

“Wow that was amazing.” Mike said looking over the folders in her computer opening one at a time. “Where did you learn all of this?” She wanted to look through her computer but she knew that Maja would not let her.

“I kind of taught myself.” Maja answered smiling to herself, she was proud of herself. She was on her first real hunt and she was helping the others. She had had so much anxiety about how she was not going to be useful her first time in the field. “It’s going to take a few minutes.” She said standing up and stretching. The two smiled at each other for a few seconds celebrating their small victory, the celebration ended at fast as it came when they remembered who they were celebrating with. They had spent so much time disliking each other, it was hard to ignore it.

The two hunters stood in the middle of the room in an awkward silence. Mike had spent so much time disliking Maja that she had never thought that she would ever have her in her room. She had never really thought Maja or her brother would be a part of the Deadly Dozen, less likely that only one of them would be. At least now that detail could be a subject of conversation.

“So,” Mike began unsure of whether she wanted to bring up the subject or not. She couldn’t take the silence anymore, she needed to talk about something. “how did your brother take the news of not making the ranks?” She shifted slightly on her feet, she hoped that Maja didn’t think that she was searching for information considering how much their families seemed to hate each other. Maja eyed her for a second unsure if she should answer or not. 

“He wasn’t so happy.” She admitted after a moment of silence. In all honesty she was glad that someone had asked that, even if it was Mike Maki. “Neither were my parents.” She added in a softer voice. She played with the hem on her t-shirt nervously. Her family had been convinced that her brother was going to be the one to be inducted into the Deadly Dozen, but he was eliminated in the first round. They took it as an insult that their only son had been denied entry and their daughter had been accepted. They had assumed it was some joke that the Makis and Bishops were playing on them. 

“He didn’t get mad at you did he?” Mike asked, Maja didn’t answer, that meant he did. Mike knew how female hunters were treated in some of the less progressive places in the world. She had been no exception to the sexist remarks or treatment some of the women received. Roz had made headlines when she was ranked the top spot in the group, not everyone was happy about the announcement. Despite her achievement Roz was belittled just because of her gender. Hunting had always been and still was a boys club, all of the girls in the current group were pioneers in their society. Pioneers always faced challenges. 

“Why did I make the Deadly Dozen?” Maja asked. Mike wasn’t entirely sure what the Hindi hunter expected as an answer. Maja looked at her, she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. She was waiting for the cameras to come out and the joke be revealed. There was no way that Mike and Rei would just let her join the ranks without some sort of fight.

“We chose you because you were one of the best.” Mike explained, there was really nothing else to it. Maja had outshined the rest that day, she was fast, smart, and strong willed. Sure she was rough around the edges but more training would help with that. 

“You and your brother could have easily convinced the Bishops to vote against me.” She started to pace back and forth. The fact that she had made the cut should make her ecstatic but it just irked her thinking that there might be something else going on. “And I know Bea would have done anything Roz said since she’s desperate to prove she belongs in the top five.” 

“Yeah we could have.” Mike confessed. “But we didn’t.”

Maja narrowed her eyes at Mike. “But you’ve always hated me.” 

“I don’t hate you.” Mike scoffed. That brought a wave of surprise to Maja’s face. “I disliked you but not hated you.” She stepped back and let herself fall back on her bed. “Even if I did, there was no denying that you were better than most of the people that day.” She stared at the ceiling not wanting to look at Maja in what seemed like an honest moment. 

“Thanks.” Maja said quietly sitting back at the desk. “You’re pretty good at all of this too.” She rolled her eyes as she said it, it was a trained reaction to the years of rivalry the two of them had. Mike lifted herself up and rested her weight on her elbows looking at Maja. The two of them had just admitted something that they had spent years trying to deny. “I must admit, I’ve always been a bit jealous.” Maja continued. Mike had not expected that. She was left speechless by Maja’s sudden confession. Of all of the things she could see the Hindi hunter saying to her that was not one of them. Maja let herself fall unto the chair she was sitting at before. “Don’t act like you never noticed the difference in how you and I were treated.” Maja rolled her eyes at the other hunter. Maja had always felt like she was pushed behind Mike’s shadow. Mike had always been treated like she was faster, smarter, better…prettier. As if it wasn’t enough that people constantly treated her as if she was inferior to her brother. “You can’t tell me that guys look at you the same way they look at me?” Of course Mike was going to deny that. 

“I didn’t pay much attention to anything like that.” Mike admitted pulling back the sleeves of her jacket. It was true, she had never seen herself being with another hunter in the long run. “I was too focused on our whole thing.” She motioned between the two of them. Whenever they were in the same room their rivalry was the only thing she could think of. At least until that day.

“That doesn’t make it any better.” Maja half-heartedly laughed. “It just pisses me off some more if anything.” She leaned forward resting her elbows on her knees. “Because they were throwing themselves at you.” Mike shook her head in skepticism. “I mean of course they did,” Maja continued ranting. “You are a size four, have the pretty eyes, the light skin, your family is old money while mine is new money.” 

Mike sat up straight in shock. She didn’t see how any of those things were fuel to the fire that they had had all of those years. “Maja, you’re beautiful.” Mike said, she was confused as to how Maja would ever think otherwise. Maja narrowed her eyes and scoffed. “You are!” Mike defended her original statement. Maja opened her mouth to speak but Mike was not going to let her. “There is more than one definition of beauty Maja.” 

“That’s what hot people say to ugly people so that they feel better about being ugly.”

Mike stood up. “Come here!” She ordered the Hindi hunter. She pulled the chair to her vanity back to its original place. “Sit here.” She pointed to the chair. Maja didn’t move, she looked down at the chair then up at Mike quizzically. “Please.” Mike added sounding like a parent trying to convince their child to eat their vegetables. Maja sighed and stomped over sitting in the chair. Mike leaned down and pointed to Maja’s reflection in the mirror. “Name five things you like about yourself.” She demanded. Maja looked over her reflection but didn’t speak. 

“What? What are you doing?” Maja asked looking up at Mike. 

“This is what I used to do to help myself.” Mike explained. “Come on do it.” Maja shook her head. “Fine, I’ll do it.” Mike finally said frustrated. She looked over Maja for a second deciding on where to start. “Your hair is super silky and thick.” She said pushing part of Maja’s hair to the front of her shoulder. “Your skin is flawless, no wrinkles or blemishes.” Mike continued. “While on that subject, the color of your skin is a beautiful copper shade and even throughout. I know lots of people think that light skin is prettier but that is not true.” Maja looked over her skin. Mike was right she had no dark circles or blemishes on her face. It had never crossed her mind that her skin could be called copper, she liked that. “Your eyes.” Mike continued on to the fourth thing on her list. “They are large and youthful. And the cognac coloring goes perfectly with your skin.” Maja pondered on the words. Back home women with light skin and eyes were the ones called beautiful. She had heard the women in her family say to her parents many times how she would be much prettier if they had her skin lightened. She had grown up her entire childhood thinking that there was something wrong with her looks. “Okay last thing.” Mike said standing up. She crossed her arms and studied Maja. Maja didn’t care to have someone like Mike sit there and judge her. “You have great curves.” Mike said. She snapped for Maja to stand up straight. Maja did and looked at herself in the mirror. “Just because you don’t have a size four frame doesn’t mean that your body isn’t great. You have curves and well tones muscles.” Mike lifted her shirt lightly to reveal her mid-drift. “See my hips are kind of narrow and boyish, where yours curve like a woman’s.”

“There is nothing wrong with your hips.” Maja said placing her hands on her own hips as if to measure the width. 

“Exactly my point.” Mike said putting her hips closer to Maja’s. “We have different body types and that is perfectly fine.” Mike sighed putting her shirt back down. “Honestly I wasn’t happy with myself until I stopped comparing myself to others.” She didn’t look at Maja while she spoke. Instead she looked at the ground, it was easier to have an honest conversation for her is she didn’t make direct eye contact. “There will always be someone better, faster, smarter, prettier. But odds are that person is comparing themselves to someone else too.” 

“Thanks, Mike.” Maja said. The two girls smile at each other awkwardly. They had never imagined that the two of them would trade words, aside from insults and sarcastic comments. Maja was the one to fight through discomfort and reached out for Mike. She hugged her tightly. Despite their history, Mike was the one to tell her all of the things that she needed to hear. It meant a lot to Maja to have Mike set her differences aside so that she could lift her up. Even if Mike had always been a bitch in her book she was undoubtedly a good person. Mike smiled to herself and hugged Maja back. It was hard to hate someone when you understand why they act the way they do. She had no idea that she was the one impacting Maja negatively. She hoped that with that conversation they could put their past behind them. The two of them would have to work together to make sure that their future as friends would be a good one.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Avery had paced back and forth in his room for what felt like hours. He always did this. He always pushed his problems aside until he had no choice but deal with them all at once. There was something out there trying to kill him and his friends, his employee was convinced he was the devil incarnate-which meant he was going to have to fire her and hire a manager for the restaurant, his powers were spiking and he was not prepared for them, and he still hadn’t dealt with the whole Brooks and Wren ordeal. All of these things were going to keep badgering until either he ended them or they ended him. It didn’t help that there was about a dozen other people in his home who were all on edge, his siren was rolling in the unwanted emotions they released into the air. The only positive thing he could think of was that the wolves and hunters were willing to work together. He worked on his breathing to try and keep his anxiety from creeping closer and closer. The breathing didn’t usually work but it did force him to focus on something other than his problems. He heard the footsteps coming up the stairs. The whole moments felt like it was slow motion and fast forward at the same time. He knew it was Brooks, he recognized the sound of his footsteps. He was wearing his heavy steel toe boots, Avery and Mike referred to them as his pseudo-lumberjack boots. His eyes focused on the door waiting for the knock. It was the moment he had been dreading. He couldn’t go on pretending that everything was okay, or that he wasn’t still in pain over what Brooks had done. He had just gotten sidetracked with people almost dying. Being attacked by human-spider monsters would make anyone forget a lot of things. There was four knocks on the door, the same little pattern that Brooks always used-TapTap-Tap-Tap. He looked back to his bed, maybe if he was really quiet he could pretend that he was asleep. 

“Avery?” Brooks called from the other side. “Have you eaten yet?” Avery stood motionless, that question came out of left field. Food was the last thing on his mind. “You didn’t eat earlier when you left for the restaurant.” He knocked again. “I know you’re awake,” The wolf laughed. “I could hear you pacing from downstairs.” Avery sighed and headed for the door. He turned the door knob slowly trying to delay the inevitable. Brooks took a step back when the door revealed the siren on the other side. “So have you eaten?” Brooks asked. He looked the younger man up and down, something was off. The look on Avery’s face was pure confusion, his heart beat was fast. “Are you okay?” The blonde reached out to touch the other’s face, maybe not eating was taking its toll on Avery. The siren turned his face away from the wolf’s touch. Physical contact would just confuse him even more.

“I’m fine.” Avery finally responded. It was just his go-to response, no matter what was happening he was always fine. Brooks shifted on his feet. The discomfort was growing between the two. 

“You’ve been kind of quiet and closed off.” 

“Can’t imagine why.” Avery answered dryly. It pissed him off even more that the wolf was acting as if nothing had happened. The wolf nodded squaring his shoulders. He had hoped that the two of them could put this off until the whole arachnid deal was done. 

“Avery, I am so sorry.” His voice was soft and full of shame. With all the wolves in the house the wall might as well be made of paper. “I made a huge mistake,” He continued.

“You know I thought I could push it all aside for a few days but there is too much going on right now.” Avery whispered. His jaw was tense from holding back the things that he felt at that moment. He took a deep shaky breath in looking anywhere but where the wolf stood looking back at him. “I can’t even look at you because you’re a completely different person to me now.” 

“I know, I’m sorry but I think that if we work through this we can get back on track.” The tears were starting to well in the wolf’s eyes. “I don’t want to lose this.” He motioned to between them, Avery flinched back to stay out of his reach. 

“You did it to hurt me.” Avery answered. He could feel the pain growing inside him, turning into anger. The darkest part of the siren wanted to get back a Brooks and hurt too. “But not before thinking the worst possible thing about me.” He wasn’t whispering anymore. His powers were taking over and fogging up his thoughts. He knew that being tired and hungry were just making him more subject-able to his own powers, but that didn’t matter to him. The wolf moved in closer, seeing Avery in so much pain made him want to take it all away. Avery stepped back and held his hands out. “Don’t.” He gritted out through his teeth. 

“I just want to show you that I’m serious about us, I don’t want to lose you.” 

“Shut up!” Avery snapped the anger flooding his thoughts. He could see bright red swirling around his own body. It wasn’t often that he saw his own emotions in the air. Mike and Maja stepped out from Mike’s room. They heard Avery snap at Brooks. “There is no us!” Avery continued. The wolf held his hands out, if Avery kept shouting the others would come running. 

“Avery, calm down.” Brooks begged still speaking quietly. 

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Avery shouted. “I can be pissed off at you if I damn feel like it!” The wolf could already hear the footsteps approaching. Roz and Rei were the first to arrive. 

“What’s going on?” Roz asked. The others were already crowding behind her and filtering into the hall way from the stairs.

“Butt out Roslyn!” Avery snapped turning to glare at his sister. “This has nothing to do with you!” Roz didn’t like his tone, not because he was yelling at her but because she knew something bad was going to happen. Roz raised her brow to the wolf moving her head slightly to remind him that the other hunters were there.

“Let’s talk about this in your room.” Brooks said moving closer to Avery. Avery stepped forward and pushed the wolf away from himself. 

“Don’t touch me!” His voice thundered in the hallway, the anger had started to become rage. It was getting harder and harder to bottle it up. The push combined with Avery’s voice was enough to slam the wolf against the wall a few feet behind him. Brooks felt pain travel from his neck down to his back, he had hit a stud in the wall. He looked up in shock at Avery. The siren stood looking down at him anger still seething from his body. His eyes. They were bright and silver, shining madly. Reflecting the intensity of his emotions at the moment. The group stood quietly in shock of what Avery had done. The only sound was Avery’s heavy breathing as he aggressively stared the wolf down. Robin was the first to hear the click. Mike was the first to see the gun. 

Bea pushed forward from behind Wren and Robin. She held her gun pointed directly at Avery. The siren took no notice of the hunter his eyes still focused on the wolf, the source of his anger.

“Beatriz.” Roz said as calmly as she could. She didn't like the sight of her brother being held at gun point. She moved her hand slowly towards her own pistol. She didn’t want to hurt Bea but she would if it meant keeping her younger brother safe. 

“Why are his eyes glowing silver?” Bea bit every word out angrily. She had turned her head the other way when she found out about Avery and Brooks, even when they had to work together with a pack of wolves. But seeing Avery with glowing eyes made her feel like they were holding more from her than what they let on, something that could potentially hurt her and others. She looked directly at Maja, she was really the only one she could trust in that house. Maja didn’t move, she stood next to Mike still holding the computer in her hands. Her hands held on tightly to the computer. 

“Beatriz put the gun down.” Roz ordered softly, she needed to be firm with Bea. Even if Bea was the one with the upper hand at the moment. 

“Avery!” Bea yelled. The group flinched at her voice, everyone but Avery his eyes still on the wolf on the ground. None of the other hunters had ever seen her angry. It was scary to see someone who was usually chipper be so tense and livid. Avery turned his eyes slowly towards the Latina hunter. His pupils were still burning brightly his facial features shifting slightly. The siren inside him was scratching at the surface. The more the siren took over the more his face became beautifully deadly. His eyes narrowed at the gun in his face. His vision trailed up to see Bea’s face. She was acting tough, but he could see the bright lime green light dancing around her. She was scared, she was scared of him. He felt himself coming back into control. He didn’t want to inflict fear in anybody. His head fell forward in shame, he had let himself get lost in his emotions even though he knew the repercussions. Brooks still sat on the ground looking up at him. His eyes were wide with fear, his brows burrowed together with pain. Avery had done that, he didn’t mean to. He never wanted to, no matter how angry he was he had never been a violent person-hunting doesn’t really count. He ran his palm over his face, he could feel his bone structure shifting back to normal. 

“I’m sorry.” He gasped out looking at the ground, he didn’t want make eye contact with anyone. He was ashamed of himself, he hated himself. “Brooks…” He kneeled down to meet the wolf’s eyes. 

“Answer the question!” Avery felt the cold tip of the gun on his temple. He didn’t move, he didn’t want to make Bea flinch and end up dead. One more person trying to kill him, he should really write the growing list down. He felt Robin’s growl before he heard it. The large dark skinned wolf leapt at Bea grabbing her harshly midair and pummeling into the wall opposite. Bea lost grip of the gun in the fall hitting the back of Avery’s head in the process. Avery fell forward towards Brooks, he caught himself on the wall behind the wolf. His face hovering over Brooks. Brooks recoiled from him, his eyes still agape in his direction. The pain from seeing Brooks fearful of him was more agonizing than the blow to the back of his skull. He was engulfed in the mist of Brooks’s emotions.

Bea fought with Robin’s unforgiving grasp. It was useless bearing in mind how much stronger the wolf was when equated to a human. Avery pulled himself away from Brooks and turned to the two on the ground. 

“Robin let her go.” Avery sighed rubbing the back of his head, it was starting to throb lightly. The entire room went silent at his remark.

“Avery, she was going to shoot you.” Wren whispered helping him up. She stood closer to him. He felt her arms wrap around protectively around his. Brooks’s emotions were slowly replaced with Wren’s royal blue lights.

“It’s fine.” Avery said to his apparent guardian. He cocked an eyebrow at Mike then shifted his eyes towards Brooks who was still on the ground. She moved rapidly towards the blonde wolf. Brooks held on to her like a frightened child needing comfort. “If she wanted to kill me she would have done it by now.” Robin let Bea stand up but his hand firmly gripped her arm. “But everyone please take a deep breath cuz your emotions are really distracting.” He took a deep breath, nobody else followed suit. He looked around austerely waiting for the others to do as he asked. “Now.” He ordered. He was surprised to see that even Bea took a deep breath to try and calm herself. The group exhaling cleared up the majority of the dancing lights in the room. There was still some left but not enough for him to be distracted. “Thank you.”

“Can you please just tell me what is going on?” Bea demanded. Her hair was a tangled mess from her tussle with the wolf. “Why were your eyes glowing?” She was still trying to steady her breathing. Not because Avery asked her but because she was aware that the majority of the room was against her. The group turned their attention to Avery, it was after all his secret to tell. He pinched the bridge of his nose not sure how to start. The only thing that he could really think of was to blurt it out. 

So he did. “I’m a siren.” He could feel the tension in the room, it was rising for some and lowering for others. It was a confusing feeling for the siren. Bea narrowed her eyes in misunderstanding, she opened her mouth to speak but she didn’t know what to say. She was flabbergasted at the thought.

“How…” She started, she wasn’t sure where her statement was going but she figured most people wouldn’t either. She pulled out of Robin’s grasp and moved forward. “How?” She repeated. “You cannot just turn into a siren.” Well, she wasn’t wrong.

“I didn’t turn into one, I was born one.” He explained. 

She raised her voice. “How the hell did you manage to hide it from all of the hunters?” She asked. Avery shifted his weight on his feet. Considering how much time he spent thinking about what would happen if he was found out, he never actually thought about what he was going to say or do. He wished that sirens had the ability to poof their way out of situations like some sort of cartoon witch. But as far as he knew he did not possess that ability…maybe he could take a ninja tactic class to learn. 

“I actually didn’t know myself.” Avery shrugged. “I found out in the middle of the wendigo hunt last year.”

“The hunt we all competed for during the dinner to celebrate you and Roz?” Bea asked trying to recall the event. Avery nodded. 

“You guys take this ranking thing seriously don’t you?” Ivy whispered. Roz glared at her. Ivy wasn’t wrong, it was just that when an outsider looked in she knew how silly she and the other hunters looked about their traditions. The alpha didn’t have to rub it in that they were all petty, deadly but petty.

“My parents had a spell put on a necklace that kept my powers dormant.” Avery continued ignoring the wolf’s comment.   
“Working with wolves is hard enough for me but now you expect me to work with a siren?” She looked around to the other hunters in the crowded hall. 

“His being a siren hasn’t changed him.” Mike defended, she still held on to Brooks. Even though he was scared of Avery at the moment he was still prepared to jump at Bea in case she tried to attack again. Fear or not Brooks considered Avery to be part of his werewolf pack even though he wasn’t a wolf.

“I don’t know.” Bea turned to Maja. She was the only one-as far as she knew-that wasn’t entirely on Avery’s side. She had always wondered why the Maki’s were so close to the Bishops out of nowhere. It must have been true that secrets brought people closer together. The rest of the group watched as Maja moved uncomfortably under their scrutiny. She looked over at Mike hoping that she could give her something to say. Mike pursed her lips, it was clear that she was on Avery’s side. The two of them had just become friends, she wasn’t ready to ruin that just yet. 

“Siren or not.” Maja began. “He’s still one of us.” She smiled meekly at Avery. She meant what she was saying. “We took an oath as hunters to protect and help each other.” 

“Thanks Maja.” Avery nodded, it meant a lot to have someone human be so accepting of him so quickly. 

“Unfortunately not a lot of the other hunters are as cool with it as you are.” He explained. “It’s why I left.” 

“Everyone says that you left because…”

“No!” Avery cut her off. “I didn’t kill Kit!” Bea shut her mouth, she had seen the things that Avery’s siren half could do and she didn’t want to see it again. “Or, Max.” He added. It hard for him not to be defensive on that subject.

“Because you were trying to get out of the hunting business.” Bea said slowly. “I had never thought for one second that you killed the Battalignas.” She adjusted her clothing angrily, her wrestling match with Robin had wrinkled most of it. 

“Oh.” Avery muttered. “Thanks.” 

Bea shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m sorry I held a gun to your head.” They both stood awkwardly like children after their mother told them hug and stop fighting. “I was just on edge and scared.”

“I know.” Avery half-laughed. “One of my powers is to see people’s emotions.” 

“Really?” Bea said moving closer as if getting closer to him would let her mooch off of his powers. Avery flinched a bit so she took a step back. “I don’t really know much about sirens so I don’t know what to say here.” She fidgeted with her fingers. She had always liked Avery and she still did. The whole gun thing was just a precaution. There was a loud knocking on the front door. The group looked down the stairs. They were half expecting something to burst in gun blazing. Whoever-or whatever- was outside was clearly not going be bursting in if they had time to knock. Mike the first to move and headed down the stairs. The others started following filtering out of the hallway. All of them aside from Avery and Brooks. Avery wanted to apologize to the wolf, he had not meant to use his power on him. 

“Brooks.” He said softly. He wanted to move closer to the blonde but all he could see was the way that he had reacted the last time that they were in close perimeter. The wolf didn’t meet his eyes. “I am sorry, I never meant to hurt you.” He had never see the burly wolf look so small and hurt. He had done that and he hated himself for it. “Please say something.” He begged reaching out to touch his arm. He had expected Brooks to recoil away from him but he didn’t. His fingers trailed along the wolf’s forearm soothingly. Brooks still didn’t speak, he didn’t know what to say. Regardless it felt like it had been forever since Avery had caressed him like that-the time that he was dying did not count. 

“Avery!” Mike called from the front door. “Avery it’s for you.” He tried not break his attention from the wolf but Mike continued to call for him. “Jerilyn is here!” That definitely cut the tender moment short for the siren. What the hell could Jerilyn want? He double checked his body making sure that his throwing knives were on him, like usual they were. If Jerilyn really was a Piasa and could detect other’s power she had to be aware of the amount of supernatural power inside of his home. Either she was stupid or very very powerful herself. He sorely hoped that the latter was not true.

“I’ll be right back, sorry.” He headed down the stairs. He didn’t know what was about to happen but he was going to make sure that a frying pan wasn’t his only weapon this time-despite how effective it was. He could see Mike speaking with Jerilyn outside of the door. He stood close to the wall and slithered his way to the closet at the bottom of the stairs. He equipped himself as quickly as he could with any extra daggers he saw. It was a wonder he could even move with all of the weapons strapped to him. It was a bigger wonder that he was not constantly stabbing himself every time he fell. “Mike could you come inside please.” He demanded stepping out of the house. Jerilyn was acting as friendly and chipper as ever. Her face in a full bright smile as she spoke with Mike about something Avery was sure he had no care for. 

“Avery.” Jerilyn greeted in her sweet southern accent. “Can I speak to you alone?”


	15. 21 Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avery agrees to speak to Jerilyn still unsure of how of a threat she poses. Little do they know something worse lingers closely.

Chapter 14 21 Questions

The group was not very fond of the idea of Avery being outside, especially his sister. They may not have been aware of what Jerilyn was but they were unsure if the arachnes would attack him in broad daylight. Avery kind of hoped that they would so that Jerilyn could see that he was not the one behind them. He was more worried about the things that a piasa was capable of rather than an arachne. He closed the door behind him ignoring the death glare from his sister. He turned to face the perky redhead waiting for him a few steps from the last step of his porch. Her body was not tense and he didn’t sense any negative emotions from her.

“I’m not here to fight you, Avery.” She said putting her hands out in a sign of defeat. The siren stood still at the top of the steps waiting for her to continue. “I am sorry for attacking you at the restaurant.” He was inclined not to believe her since she rolled her eyes as if it physically hurt her to say the words. “It was just a precaution, I wasn’t aware of how…fresh…you were to your powers.” She paused, fresh was not the word she would have used but she couldn’t think of anything else. “I’m just trying to protect my territory and people.” 

“No offense Jerilyn, but you don’t look very Native American to me.” Avery said, he knew how important it was to be respectful when speaking to supernatural creatures but considering she had already attacked him he figured it was okay to be a little snarky. “I thought Piasa’s were supposed to be Native American…and in Illinois.” The words didn’t sit right with the Piasa. It had been a long time since anyone was aware of what she really was. Most people believed her southern belle façade without question. It felt like forever since she was asked about her true self. 

“This is an illusion.” She pulled lightly on her red curls. “To make your people accept me.” He shook his head, his people were not really a part of what happened to the Native Americans. “So that I could live a life in silence, if you can call that a life.” She pursed her lips annoyed. For being an ancient supernatural being she sure was petty. He was sure that she could be easily manipulated using her feeling is he needed to. Might be easier than a hand to hand fight. “My name is not Jerilyn.” She said her false name with a bitter taste. 

“So then what is your name?” He asked. 

“I’ll answer one question of yours if you answer one of mine.” She rebutted quickly lifting a shoulder in a flirtatious manner. Flirting was one of the most effective ways to get information. It should make her angry that out of all the powers she had at her disposal she used her looks the most.

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” The siren mocked imitating the same gesture to her. Unlike Paisa his powers actually depended heavily on his looks and flirting skills.

“Do you want information or not, Siren?” She asked harshly. He was playing games with her when she had hoped to get information and possibly a new ally against whatever it was that brought those things into her land.

“Is that your first question?” He winked at her relishing how much he could tease her. The Piasa didn’t respond, she waited for the child in front of her to move forward in the conversation. “Fine.” Avery agreed. “You can go first if you want.” 

“Where are your siblings?” She spoke immediately, it was a question she had wanted to know since they had met. He had met his sister earlier, she had had to have something to do with all of this if Avery did. Sirens never worked alone. 

Avery pointed to his house. “Roz, is inside, you’ve met her.” He thought for a second trying to decide which question he wanted to ask. Honestly her real name was not really as important to him as some of the other questions. “So…”He said trying to fill the silence. 

“You’re sister needs to be here for this conversation.” She cut him off. “After all it involves her too.” She didn’t appreciate the eye roll and sigh that she received from him as he turned towards his door. She made a mental memo to smack him when this whole thing was over. He may have been a grown up but compared to her, he was nothing but a fetus.

“Roz, can you come out h…” Roz was walking through the door before Avery could finish talking. “What, have you been waiting at the door?”

“Of course I have.” She said closing the door behind her. He could see her gun sticking out from the waist band of her jeans. The Piasa moved closer pointing to Roz, she was angry. 

“That’s not your sister!” She declared, her fingers accusingly pointed at Roz. The two siblings looked at each other confused. “Do you think I’m an idiot?” The usual cute features had turned cold and viscous.

“Is that your second question?” Avery laughed. “Because you know the answer to that. This is Roslyn, you met her.”

“There was another girl with you the Latina.” She must have meant Bea.

“Beatriz is not my sister.” Avery stated. 

Roz pointed to the Piasa. “Does she know that you’re adopted?” Avery shrugged. 

“No but she knows I’m a siren.” He whispered. Roz focused her eyes on Jerilyn. How could she possibly know that? Avery was predisposed to to do dumb things, but Roz highly doubted that he just told her what he was. “She’s a Piasa.” Roz side eyed Jerilyn with adamant doubt.

“She doesn’t look very Native American.” She mumbled to her brother. 

“Focus!” Jerilyn shouted. The Bishops siblings were mere children compared to her, and they were acting as such. Why were they focused on the least important part of her. “I need to get to the bottom of this!”

“I’ve killed things scarier than you!” Roz snapped back. She didn’t care how powerful a Piasa was, she was going to keep her calm. “Look, I’m his sister. Now what the hell do you want?”

“You expect me to believe that he is the only siren?” The paisa shouted. “Sirens always come in three!” She stepped forward towards Avery, she was ready to smack the answers out of him. 

Sirens come in three. Three. That meant that Avery might have siblings out there…or he was meant to have siblings but never had the chance to. He thought of his birth mother, the picture that he had seen of her holding him as a baby. It saddened him that nature had planned so much more for her but her life was cut short. 

“My mother was killed when I was an infant.” Avery whispered solemnly. “As far as I know I’m the only child she had.” Jerilyn’s face turned grave, even though she had always been weary of the siren, she had grown somewhat fond of Avery as a person. “So no I do not have any blood relatives.” He took a second to breathe and push any unnecessary emotion away. “Now what it your name?” The question came out more as an order. He didn’t really care what her name was but he wanted to change the subject.

“Taima.” The name felt foreign in her mouth. It had been a long time since she had spoken it out loud. “It means thunder.” She continued. Every name had a meaning. 

“Very suiting.” Avery nodded. “To go along with the thunder in your eyes.” He motioned to her eyes. Taima couldn’t help but smile at that. Avery may have been young and naïve but he was genuine and likable, she respected that the way he spoke to her hadn’t changed much from when he thought she was just a human. She continued with the questioning.

“So, neither you or anyone in this house has anything to do with these monsters coming here?” She looked over the house behind the siblings. It was impressive and historical looking however she was more concerned with the amount of power she sensed was inside. 

Avery shook his head. “Not that we are aware of,” He paused contemplating whether he should tell her about his suspicions of insiders working against them. “The Arachnes just showed up.”

“Arachnes?” Taima repeated. She had heard and read about those creatures but she had never dealt with one personally. “Arachnes live in the South American rainforest.” Her statement sounded more like a question. The question she was sure they were all thinking-What the hell were they doing in Clear Waters, California?

“They are from the rainforests,” He granted. “they never leave unless they are forced to.”

“So something forced them out and led them here.” Taima thought out loud to herself. Anything that had the power to do it must be very powerful. Avery nodded. 

“Why did you think that that something was me?” He asked. He was still standing on the edge of the porch. Taima studied the porch, the broken railing was a noticeable touch. 

“I can sense powers,” She began by stating the obvious. “however, I can’t always pinpoint who or what it is.” She looked at him. He could tell she was using his powers on him. Her eyes shifted around like she was seeing his information written in the air around him. “I sensed what you were from the moment I met you…since you were so new to your powers.” She laughed at the last part of her statement. Neither Roz nor Avery showed any sign that they found enjoyment in her words. Taima cleared her throat uncomfortably. “These last few weeks I sensed a spike in the usage of powers.” The two siblings looked at each other. “I could tell it was a siren, so naturally I assumed.” She shrugged. Avery looked to his sister, she could see from his face that he didn’t blame Taima for assuming. She knew that they would probably would have done the same if their roles were reversed. “Anyways, I’m sorry for attacking you, and trying to kill you.” She laughed timidly. Avery shrugged completely unmoved by the words. “Even though you kicked my ass.” He nodded in agreement.

“She attacked you?” Roz asked angrily. She stepped forward but Avery blocked her way by placing his hands out and acting as a door on the porch steps. She couldn’t believe that her brother had failed to let that little detail slip his mind. 

“It’s okay.” Avery answered with his eyes still on Taima. Roz scoffed throwing her hands up in the air exasperated. How could the two of them speak about things so dispassionately? They were literally talking about trying to kill each other.

“How is that okay?” Roz asked. Avery could feel her standing inches behind him, it might have just been her anger that he felt though.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Roz, I broke her jaw with a frying pan.” He explained. “Sorry about that by the way.” He mentioned nonchalantly. Taima shrugged, clearly that was not the first time that she had had her jaw shattered. Roz swayed back and forth, she always did that when she was on edge. 

“Do you have any leads as to who is controlling these things?” Taima said getting the conversation back on track. Avery shook his head. He stepped forward and sat down on the steps. Taima’s body language relaxed the moment she saw him be more relaxed around her. Perhaps they were on the same side. 

“We were trying to figure stuff out but whoever is doing it must be controlling some computer geeks because we got cut off from the world.” He explained. He motioned for her to move closer. Taima hesitated at first, mostly because Roz was still swaying, but she stepped forward and sat next to the siren. She kept an eye behind her, she somewhat trusted Avery from knowing him the past few months but Roz was still a wildcard in her eyes. 

“That must be why the phones at the restaurant were out.” She said. He nodded looking down at his hands. He was twirling his fingers around in a fidgety motion. 

“We have no internet, phones, nothing.” He continued. “All we know is what the arachnes are and that they hate the wood that our porch is made out of, right now it’s our only weapon.” He pointed to the broken railing. “As long as we stay here we are safe from them.” 

“Okay.” Taima sighed clapping her hands together. “So if we want this to stop we need to figure out who is behind all of this because Arachnes multiply like crazy if they need to.”

“We?” Roz asked from behind them. “There is no we, there is us.” She motioned to the house and the people inside it. “then there is you.” Taima looked over at Avery waiting for him to intervene. He sighed and stood up to face his sister.

“Roz, calm down.” He began.

“What? Are we just supposed to add another supernatural creature to the guest list?” She was shaking her head the whole time. “I’m already working with werewolves what more do you want from me?” If her voice got any higher the wolves inside would hear her for sure.

“Just trust me,” He tried to talk. He knew that Taima meant well, Paisas were protectors of their land and the people inside it. She was just looking out for herself and the human living in Clear Waters. 

“I think I have been trusting enough.” Roz spat. She acted as if Taima was not even there. “I think it’s you who need to be less trusting of these things!” 

Things.

That word hurt him. “Roz, I am one of these things.” He whispered. Whether she could admit it to herself or not, her brother was no longer a part of the human world. If she saw the wolves and paisa as just things to be killed, he didn’t want to know how she saw him. He lowered his gaze to the ground. She was making him feel inferior for just being what he was. “She’s here to help us and we don’t know what we are up against.” 

“I’m here to protect my home and those who live here.” Taima explained walking closer to the two of them. “I think it is best if we worked together so that we can all get back to our lives.” Roz glared at Taima, how was she supposed to believe her? She didn’t know her, Avery barely knew her. She didn’t like how trusting her brother was becoming of the supernatural world. 

Avery could hear purring. It was low. He looked at the two women on the porch with him, neither of them seemed bothered by it, they continued to argue about who could trust who less. Avery looked around into the bushes. There was nothing there. He looked down at his watch, there was still about another half hour before they could expect sundown. The purring continued to grow in his ears. It wasn’t overpowering he could still hear his sister refuse to accept Taima’s help. Maybe this was another siren thing. He could hear cats….because he was meant to die alone like a crazy cat lady. He stood at the last step on the porch pondering whether he wanted to step out or not. The purring shifted, he could feel the vibrations from what he assumed was a cat moving above him. 

“Avery?” Taima called to him from the porch. He looked over at her and his sister. He was no longer in the safety of the porch, he hadn’t felt himself moving away from the home. 

“Do you hear that?” He asked still looking around. He needed to find the source of the purring. He remembered when his powers first activated he almost went crazy from a song he heard nonstop. He couldn’t have this purring dividing his focus when things got dicey and they confronted whoever was doing all of this. OR whatever was doing all of this. 

“Ave, get back on the porch.” Roz ordered. He didn’t hear her the purring was getting louder becoming more of a rumble. “Avery!” She stepped to the edge of the porch. 

“Wait.” Taima pulled Roz back by the arm. “Those things are getting closer.” She pointed to the trees across the field. Dark shapes lined the bottom of the shade from the leaves. They were watching them. They were waiting. They were not paying attention to Avery whatsoever. Avery continued to look around desperately. He stopped when he spotted something at the top of his house.

“Avery!” Roz shouted. “Get back here now!” Taima kept her eyes on the army of arachnes waiting for something to signal their attack. Brooks opened the door and hurried out. The others inside filtered out of the door with confusion written all over. Roz continued to shout for her brother but he was focused on the shape on his roof. Whatever it was it crawled slowly as close as possible as it could to the roof. Whatever it was it was definitely the one responsible for the purring. 

“There is something up there.” Avery mumbled still in a daze from the purring fogging his thoughts. He could see the thing move closer to him but he was still too focused on the purring to think clearly. 

Brooks pushed forward to the edge of the porch. “Avery get back here!” He stepped one foot off the porch. A chorus of shrieks echoed from across the field. The shadows at the bottom of the trees bolted forward and charged at them. The blonde wolf moved towards Avery ready to protect him. Despite what was going between the two of them he was ready to protect him to his death. He didn’t make it to the siren before he was stopped by a wall of rabid arachnes. The spider monsters hissed at him separating Avery from him and the others. Not one of the arachnes was focused on the siren. The hunters and wolves tried to look as menacing as possible to intimidate the arachnes but they were clearly outnumbered. There was no way that they could defeat that many. Roz was the one to pull Brooks back unto the porch and safety. 

Avery’s eyes were still focused on the large shape atop the house. The thing threw its head back and released a thunderous roar. The roar scathed at Avery’s ears. He fell to the ground covering them. His hands weren’t very good shields from the pain. He looked up and saw the thing dive down towards him. It was humanoid in shape but walked on all fours. It looked like a mixture of a human, lion, and porcupine. The mane around its head and neck was prickly and blood red. The dark red fur covered its entire body. It walked around slowly around the siren, examining its prey. Avery could see its spine jutting out painfully. Spike-like vertebrae protruded its fur. The spikes and some of its hair were covered in a glossy liquid. He could see its gigantic claws digging into the ground as it moved around him. A large tail twitched behind it, it was covered in the same bristly hair. A large scorpion stinger ready to wound anyone that got close enough. 

“Manticore.” Mike whispered to Roz. The two women watched in fear as Avery tried to clear his mind with the large creature circling him. 

The manticore took a deep breath. Its blood red eyes focused directly on the siren. Its eyes shifted around looking the siren up and down. The blood red tint in them shifted for a split second revealing dark grey eyes glimmering back at Avery. He knew those eyes, those eyes pissed him off. Another bellow ripped through its body. Avery winced in pain. The siren tried to crawl away. The large tail wrapped around Avery’s torso. He muffled a scream when he felt the smaller spikes on the tail dig into his skin. He knew that whenever he was in agony he could often inflict it unto others. He muffled his pain to keep himself form affecting all of the wolves. The manticore took off running and dragging the wounded siren behind him. He knew what manticores were, he knew how poisonous their spikes were. He knew he couldn’t release himself from its grasp without poisoning himself. It was odd that the poison from the barbs on its tail had not began to hurt him yet-not that the stabbing in his abdomen was anything to scoff at. The manticore didn’t seem to be planning on slowling down any time soon. He tucked in his head as best as he could covering it with his arms. He was thankful that the area around his home was basically just pastures.

They had set up a trap. They separated him from the others. They had used his own powers against him. He tried to keep himself calm despite the fact that he was being dragged away from safety.

He was on his own now. 

Siren versus manticore.


	16. Rekindled Hostility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avery has been separated from the group. Now it's siren versus manticore. Will he have what it takes to take it on by himself?

Chapter 15 Rekindled Hostility

Avery couldn’t move much with how fast the manticore was hauling him through the meadow. Despite having the manticore’s spiny tail hostilely bound around him he no longer felt any ache from the puncture in his torso. He mentally kept count of how long he had been dragged and what was around him when the manticore turned. He knew that as long as he followed the bended grass they left behind he could find his way back home and to the safety of the others, but it never hurt to have too much information. The grass around him was growing taller. He couldn’t see anything past the abundant blades. The different shades of greens from the pastures were becoming nothing but a blur to him. Any other time he would have already been wielding his throwing knives and attacking. It was hard to pull them out with the monster’s tail wrapped over it. The blurred greens came to an abrupt halt. He felt the tail slither away from his body and disappear into the tall grass. 

The siren didn’t wait a second before he rolled himself over and pushed himself into a crouching position. It was getting dark out, he was sure that there was no way that he was going to make it home unscathed. The grasses around him swayed lazily. He knew that the manticore was still out there and watching him. It growled at him softly. Avery knew that it was trying to play games with him. There was something familiar about the manticore. Even though its face was distorted by its monstrous feline features there was something about it that he recognized. The grass continued to move, it didn’t help that there was a slight breeze moving the entire field. The siren could see the flattened trail of grass from where he had been dragged. He contemplated making a run for it. He honestly doubted he could outrun a demonic lion but he also doubted he could fight it off and survive. His hands were tightly wrapped around the shafts of his throwing knives. He was prepared to throw them as soon as the manticore revealed itself. The needle covered tail slithered out from between the green blades. He could see it snake around. His body flinched forwards, he wanted to attack but he caught himself before making a mistake. It was using its tail to trick him into baring himself from his weapons. It wanted him to throw his knives to leave him defenseless. The tail twisted sluggishly in the air taunting the siren into attacking. He could hear the manticore purring in laughter at him. Even the low growl from the lion was familiar to him. He had heard that devilish snicker before. Hearing it brought back emotions he didn’t care to feel again. It made his skin crawl like nothing else. His fear for the monster was swiftly being substituted with anger and disgust. The tail disappeared into the grass again but the snickering continued to channel itself into his head. Avery could feel his blood beginning to boil just from hearing the low chuckle from the beast. 

“Who are you?” Avery whispered pushing himself into a standing position. He was tired of the monster’s mind games. Either this thing was going to kill him or not-he had no time for this bullshit. The manticore didn’t answer, it kept circling quietly around its prey. Avery tried to calm himself, he was scared, he was angry, he was unquestionably aggravated. Whoever the manticore was when in its human form it knew what Avery was and what emotions running high could do to him. He turned slowly trying to use his siren senses to catch a clue of where the manticore was. He had been working on all of them and was making some good progress. His hearing allowed him to hear other’s heart beats when he focused. He was getting better at turning his pheromone sight on and off at will. He didn’t have complete control but he was sure that he could control it enough to use it at the moment. The only pheromones in the air were his and the manticore’s. Hopefully the lack of distractions would make things go in his favor. “Who are you!?” He demanded aggressively. 

He focused all of the energy he could muster out into the field of grass. He imagined his powers like a sonar in his head. He fantasized his senses pulsing outward in a globular shape around him. Avery had been surprised at how much he could bend his powers with pure will and imagination. He had laughed at himself the first time he had thought of the radar method but he usually had positive results. He continued to turn slowly and using his senses. Slowly the air around him began to glow, he saw glimpses of the pheromones around him. He figured that the sonar method to his powers worked best because he saw the dancing lights in small waves rather than in a constant flood. When he saw them in a constant stream he quickly grew tired. Dancing lights whirled around the area where he stood. Two colors intermingled with each other in front of his eyes. Alarmingly bright red burned into his retinas. Hints of blue fought to be seen amongst the crimson that was around the siren. The red was obvious to him-Red meant anger, hatred, disgust, hostility. Red was the most common and easiest emotion for him to recognize. It had gotten to the point where he could distinguish the different shades. The blue was a shock to see, it wasn’t a deep blue or a strong blue, and it was bright like the midday sky. The last time he remembered seeing that shade of blue was when he and the others were in the caves hunting the wendigoes. The terror from the others around him that moment blinded him in the baby blue lights. That blue meant fear and torment. Those two seem to be happening. Even though he knew that it had only been seconds it felt like forever. He was tired of waiting. 

Avery took the initiative and attacked first. He moved forward lifting his blades up into the air. He kept his eyes focused on the bright cluster of pheromones. He used his momentum to jump midstride, he may not be as strong or as agile as a werewolf but he had enough supernatural powers to astound a normal human. The siren twisted his body as he flipped over the monster hiding in the grass. He waited until he was directly above the manticore to thrust his knife out. He felt the blade slice through the porcupine-like bristles and into the manticore’s sinewy muscles. 

The manticore roared in pain, not many supernatural being were immune to silver. It threw its head back in its roar and twisted it head snapping its jaws at him. The siren felt something cut slightly into the palm of his hand. He didn’t have a chance to land on his feet, the scorpion tail wrapped itself around his waist once more and threw him several yards away from the manticore. The siren landed on his chest, the grass may have cushioned his fall but solid ground was still solid ground, and it fucking hurt. He did his best to push the pain in his chest out of his mind and pushed himself up again. He was breathing heavily, each breath sending waves of agony through his body. He hoped his siren powers would kick in to heal the pain quickly enough for him to survive. 

He heard the rustling behind him but didn’t have the chance to react. The large lion tackled him back onto the floor- he definitely heard something crack on that fall. He felt the thing’s giant paws digging into his back muscles with its razor sharp claws. The siren wasn’t sure which pain was worse-or which to focus on. The manticore placed its legs on both sides of his body and waited for the siren to turn to face him. Avery went over his options trying to figure out which one gave him the best chances of surviving the night. He had dropped his knives while being flung and tackled, he had more but he doubted he could reach for them without the manticore seeing him do it and attacking him before he managed to do anything worthwhile. The lion leaned down placing its muzzle near his ear. Avery could smell the fresh blood on the thing’s breath, he had no idea what kind of blood it was. He wasn’t sure if not knowing made it better or worse. Its jaws opened slightly and laughed coldly. The laugh sent a chill down the siren’s spine, he was convinced he was going to die. The manticore’s scorpion tail slithered beneath the siren’s abdomen. Avery had no idea what was going to happen but he was sure it was not good. The tail tightened its grip on him and forced him unto his back-the tail slithered away again. The siren was face to face with the beast again. Its red eyes shimmered slightly revealing the grey beneath them. It took in a deep breath, Avery knew that it was going to roar at him again. This thing was going to leave him with a horrible case of tinnitus if it didn’t kill him. He began struggling beneath the lion trying to escape.

“Heeeelp! Mmmmmeeee!” The manticore choked out shouting at him. Avery had not expected to hear a human voice resonate from within the beast. Least of all the words help me. He stopped moving looking up at the beast in confusion. Why would it ask for help? Help from what? It hadn’t even registered to him that the things voice sounded familiar. The manticore stumbled backwards away from Avery. The siren watch it as it moved like its body was fighting with itself on what it should do next. He could see its face shifting from worry to hatred. Now the two tones of pheromones he saw made sense. The manticore was dealing with its inner turmoil on whether to hurt him or not. That had to be the reason why it kept its distance from him. 

“You’re being controlled.” Avery muttered out he still lay on the ground, the pain in his chest was not going away as fast he had hoped. “Just like the arachnes.” The manticore watch him apprehensively, he almost felt bad for the beast. Avery lifted himself into a sitting position holding back from crying out in pain. The manticore began to pace back and forth in front of him. He could see it’s muscles tense and release as it moved, its eyes constantly on the siren. “Who’s doing this?” Avery asked in between deep breathing exercises, it was the only way to keep the pain at bay. 

“MAAKE it STOOOOP!” The manticore lunged at him its face filled with ferocity. The lion swooped past him barely missing his shoulder and leapt into the safety of the tall grass behind the siren. Avery used his radar technique to keep track of where the manticore was. It began to circle him lazily again, however this time the only color he could see was the fearful blue. The manticore didn’t laugh like it had before. Every movement the beast made seemed involuntary, it was a puppet to someone else’s powers. Whoever the other siren out there was he or she must have been the one controlling the lion. 

“I’m a siren too.” Avery whispered delicately. He wanted to sound as genuine as possible despite his fear. He would rather help the manticore than kill it, but he'd kill it if it came to that. He pushed himself unto his feet. The pain in his chest almost brought him back down to the ground but he stumbled around until he regained his balance. “Maybe I can offset their powers with mine.” The grasses stopped moving. The manticore had stopped, his words had gotten its attention. 

“Siiirennnn.” The lion hissed out hatred scathing his voice. “Kiiill Siirennn!” It hissed again. That voice, it haunted Avery. He had heard it before, it brought back negative feelings. It mustered the agitation that only one person from his past could manage. Then it hit the siren. The grey eyes, the voice, the silver dagger that appeared at his door. They all made sense. They had never actually found his body in the Colorado woods. There was no proof that he had died. He had always hated Avery. Avery wouldn’t be surprised if he blamed him for what happened to him during that hunt. The other siren-whoever the hell it was-wouldn’t need too much manipulation to convince him to attack Avery. There was only one person that the manticore could have been. Someone Avery doubted he would ever see again. 

“Kit?” Avery asked astounded. The manticore’s eyes glowed from beneath the grass. It glared up at the siren, the hatred for Avery still imbedded in them. “It is you…” Avery continued there was no mistaking that glare. Kit had used that glare on him all of their lives to try and intimidate him-it never worked since Avery was older and bigger than him-besides Avery always saw through it, Kit was using his anger to mask his fear. He was masking it very poorly “But, how?” The last time that anyone had seen Kit he was being dragged away into the woods by wendigoes. Not many people could survive a wendigo attack. Less could be turned by a wendigo bite or scratch. Usually if a supernatural creature bit a person, then he or she would be turned. If the person was consenting they would turn into the same thing as the one who had bitten them. If not they would become something else, it was never clear what. However to become a wendigo a person needed to commit cannibalism, something Avery doubted Kit had done. So when Kit was bitten it was up to chance to see what he would become. It was terribly fitting for Kit to become a manticore. Avery had some pun stirring in his head about the venom and the prickly porcupine hair matching his prickly personality but he pushed it away to focus on the real issue. “Kit,” Avery took a tentative step towards the manticore. The lion flinched at his movement. There was no doubt in Avery’s mind that Kit was filled with more fear towards him than he was filled with anger. He doubted that Kit even knew how he got to where he was. A siren was controlling him, using his past to overwhelm him with emotions. Avery may not have had the same control over his abilities but he hoped that pure will would be enough for him. “I’m going to try to help you.” Avery said taking another step forward. He had no idea how he was going to start but he needed to attempt it. Maybe with Kit back in the picture the Battaligna’s could get off of his ass. With Kit being a manticore now he doubted they would expose him for being a siren. 

The siren squared his body facing the manticore. He placed his feet the same width as his shoulders-he doubted that his posture had anything to do with his powers working but it was worth a try. He tried to remember all of his hand to hand combat training he hoped that some of the same principles applied to this. Kit stood still in the grass watching intently-his muscles twitching here and there, he was still fighting the other siren’s control. Avery took a deep breath inhaling until his lungs couldn’t take any more air. He exhaled slowly and lifted his right hand out towards Kit. He closed his eyes and imagined his powers all rushing to his extended hand. He continued to breathe slowly. He chose a blue-green color to represent his powers. The technical name for it was peacock green, he could already hear Roz scolding him for making a big deal about the names of colors. His mind’s eye could see the mist of peacock green mist swirling around him. It twirled from the bottom of his feet and began to twist in a vibrant vortex around him. He heard Kit move from within the grass. The fact that the lion might attack him didn’t slip his mind but this was all he could think of doing. He pushed away the negative thoughts and continued to imagine his powers mustering up. The mist churned more and more rapidly, the forces pushing the mist seemed to coincide with his exhales. 

“Sight.” He whispered. A siren’s powers of manipulation were sensed in it’s prey’s five senses. The more senses the siren had come in contact with (more like invaded) the more effective their powers would be. Sight was the easiest of the five. It was what would first lure the prey in. “Smell.” The siren continued. Smell was usually a given for supernatural creatures. The cyclone of colorful mist was only turning around the top half of his body. He needed to continue to focus until it was all in his hand. “Hearing.” He added the third sense to the list. With every new sense he added he could feel himself gaining more and more control over his abilities. Granted the first three senses on the list were give away because they didn’t need physical contact, still three out of five was better than nothing. The last two were the hardest but considering the events that had happened he was confident in himself. The two of them had made physical contact, Avery hoped that it would be enough. The peacock green mist was all around his right arm. The mist churned like a magic bazooka with his hand in the center. He could feel tingling shooting up and down his right arm. He hoped it was his powers and not a heart attack. “Touch.” Avery had the puncture wounds to prove that the two of them had made contact. Only one sense left. Avery was unsure if Kit had bitten him at some point so much had happened that it was all so muddy in his head. It was getting harder and harder for him to reminisce when he was on constant hyper-vigilance mode. He felt a slight pain in the palm of his hand, he had forgotten that Kit had cut him there when he snapped his jaws at him. “Taste.” Avery whispered forcefully, he didn’t feel a change in the amount of power at his hand, maybe Kit hadn’t bit him after all. He could see the mist of lights condensed into a ball surrounding his hand. He opened his eyes to locate the manticore. Kit lay low in the grass, his shoulders shifted beneath his skin the way Avery had seen many cats move before they pounced on a helpless mouse. Avery knew that the lion was going to pounce on him but he was scared that if he moved he would lose the focus of power he had gathered. He had to stand his ground and use the power, it was now or never. He didn’t know if he should just throw the energy at Kit of he was supposed to shout some command like a wizard releasing a spell. He heard Kit’s powerful claws digging into the ground as he braced himself to jump. It all felt like the two of them were moving in slow motion. Avery wondered if all near death experiences were like that. He could see ever muscle under Kit’s skin shifting as he moved towards him. The roar that Kit bellowed thundered through the fields scaring off the birds in the nearby trees. Avery drew his arm back and crouched slightly to get a better angle. He’d be lying if he ever said he had not dreamt of upper-cutting Kit multiple times in his life. He waited until the lion was a couple of feet in front of him. The lion flew through the air and was coming down directly over the siren. It was impressive seeing Kit coming down atop of him with his claws fully extended. Avery balled his hand into a fist and twisted his body in preparation for the punch. He let out a yell as loud as he could when he thrusted his arm forward at the beast. His fist made contact just underneath Kit’s neck. It was like hitting a solid wall of muscle, it must have hurt Avery more than it hurt Kit. He felt the exchange of energy at his powers jumped from him and unto Kit. He felt a numbing sensation through his hand as soon as the energy around it left him. The swirling mists enveloped Kit and threw him several yards away. Neither of them had expected that. Kit rolled around the grass as if wrestling with the mist that fought to smother his face. The manticore remembered a similar event to this but with blinding gold lights. The physical aspect of it was the same but the intent was different, even though the manticore wanted to tear Avery to shreds he knew that his powers were not being used in ill-intent like the other siren had used his. 

“Kit!” Avery said sternly. He shook his right arm out to get it to stop feeling so numb. “Listen to me, you’re free!” He ordered. The lion continued to thrash on the floor like a cat with a ball of yarn wrapped around it. “You will turn back into yourself now!” Avery continued yelling at the manticore. “I said now!” His voice sounded much louder than it should have, something that usually happened when his siren rose to the surface. Kit slashed at the lights violently fighting trying to fight them away. He rolled unto his stomach and pounced at Avery once again leaving the mists of the siren powers to diffuse into the grass. Avery didn’t have the chance to react to the oncoming manticore. He landed on his back with the lion on top of him. He thrust his arms out pushing the lion away. Kit snapped his jaws viciously and loudly inches from his face. Avery was surprised that he had enough strength to keep the lion from biting him. “Kit!” He yelled out still trying to muster his siren powers as best as he could. “Kit!” The lion flinched at his voice. Each clamping of the lion’s jaw sounded like bullets to his ear each getting centimeters closer and closer to him. Avery continued to shout trying to break through to the human inside of the lion’s body. His arms were starting to shake from the strain of holding the large lion at bay. Kits claw dug into his side, he felt each individual nail puncture into his skin. The siren didn’t have the strength to hold back his pain. He screamed in pain, his siren’s voice escaping. The lion flinched back in pain at the overwhelming sounds. He felt the siren’s powers scraping away at his mind, or rather the control the first siren had on his mind. The lion stumbled back several step letting itself fall unto the ground. Avery crawled away from him before turning back to look. He could feel his wounds already healing the agonizing pain in his chest was nothing but a dull ache at that point. He lifted his shirt to look at the punctures from Kit’s claws, there was nothing left there aside from streaks of blood. He refocused on Kit again as the lion continued to roll around on the ground. “Kit listen to me.” Avery said focusing his energy on the manticore. Instantly the peacock green mist began to swirl around him. He lifted his arm out towards Kit. He didn’t need to focus as much as he had the last time. The mist concentrated at his hand. “Snap out of it!” He ordered releasing the swirling mist of lights towards the lion. Kit roared in anger when the lights enveloped him in a cocoon of energy. “You’re free!” Avery ordered pushing all of his will into the two words. He felt his orders travel forward making ripples in the air as they moved. Kit thrashed about in a frenzy as the mist locked him inside. Avery couldn’t see what was happening inside the swirl of light. He sat in awe of his own abilities. Usually a light that bright would have blinded him but it was his own creation, he controlled it. Kit continued to roar from within, each roar sounding more and more human than the last. Was it working? The siren lifted himself to his feet and watched as the lights danced vividly in front of him. He drew two more of his knives and readied himself in case the lion pounced through the light at him again. After a minute the lights began to die away one by one the lights flickered off. The cocoon of light was nothing but a wimpy cloud at that point. He could finally see through. Kit lay on the ground inside the thin layer of colorful fog. Human again. Naked-but human. He looked exactly the same as the last that he had seen the younger man. Kit sat looking around him in total confusion. He looked over his skin, it was smooth and hairless…well hairless compared to his manticore form. He looked up at Avery who still stood vigilantly with his knives in hand. 

“How?” He asked looking himself over. He could see in color, his senses were back to normal. It had been so long since he had been in his original body. He tried to lift himself up but his legs felt like jello. He looked like a new born fawn trying to stand. 

“Hold on, I got you.” Avery said running to the younger hunter. He strapped his knives back into their holsters and removed his jacket. He crouched down and put his arms around Kit. Kit’s skin was hot, like he was running a temperature Avery wasn’t sure if it was a side effect of shifting. He lifted the younger hunter and let him place his weight on him. Human Kit was much lighter than manticore Kit.

“How?” Kit repeated looking up at Avery. Avery could feel pure fear flooding his senses from the younger hunter. He was unsure how long Kit had been in his lion self. In human form he must have felt so vulnerable. 

“I don’t know” Avery answered taking his jacket and wrapping it around Kit’s waist as best as he could with one hand. “I just threw my powers at you and hoped it worked.” He tied the sleeves of his jacket creating a makeshift skirt for the younger male. “It worked.” He laughed. 

“His hold on me was strong. He told me you wouldn’t be able to break it.” Kit said shivering. Avery began to pull him along following the trampled path of grass as best as he could. The sun had already set so he relied on his own vision. Unfortunately he still couldn’t figure out a way to use his powers to illuminate dark spaces. 

“Who was controlling you?” Avery asked keeping his eyes on the ground directly in front of him. The two of them depended on his ability to maneuver in the dark. He wasn’t going to expect Kit to do anything at the moment considering what he had just gone through. 

“He never let me see his face.” Kit chattered through his teeth. His skin may have been hot but he himself was getting cold. His body must have still been readjusting to his human form. “I just knew him by his powers, I could feel them.” He lifted an arm and pointed to the ground a few yard to their left. Avery spotted a glint of silver, Kit was reminding him of his throwing knives. 

“Thanks.” Avery said. He let Kit go for a few seconds as he retrieved his weapons and reequipped them. Kit swayed back and forth slowly trying to find his equilibrium. He didn’t sway for long because Avery rushed back to his side to hold him up right. 

“Thank you.” Kit said shyly. He may have been a lion for the better part of the last year or so but he still remembered the relationship that he and Avery had had before. He never would have thought that Avery would have been the one to save him from that god damn siren. He never would have pegged Avery to being another siren. Least of all the siren rising to power and threatening the other siren. “I just call him the siren.” Kit added. It was the only thing he knew about the man. That didn’t give Avery any new information to go off of. 

“Let’s just get back to the house to safety.” He steadied the younger male and continued to move forward. Kit was about four inches shorter so Avery had to slouch, he knew it was going to hurt his back but he was focused on helping and not complaining. “So manticore huh?” Avery said breathing heavily. His siren powers didn’t include super endurance so the longer he carried the younger man the more and more tired he felt. Not to mention he had just used his powers more than he had ever used them before, he knew it wouldn’t be long before he would run out of fuel and pass out. He usually passed out after using his powers. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Kit sighed. “I know you think it fits me because of my prickly disposition.” Avery could help but laugh at that. “But it’s not any better than a siren.” He continued. “The pretty topless lady brushing her hair by the sea.” He teased. 

“She’s also singing, don’t forget that.” Avery added. 

“Your powers are different though.” Kit said taking labored steps. “His are golden, yours are blue-green.” He looked to the older male. “They felt different too. Like you don’t have full control of them.”

“I’ve only known about them for less than a year.” Avery explained. “I haven’t met another siren yet.”

“Pretty soon you will.” Kit held on to Avery jacket tightly to keep it from falling. “He is not happy about you being alive. He sent me to kill you but the closer I got to you the weaker his hold on me became.” 

“So I offset his power?” Avery asked. Kit shook his head. 

“According to him you’re stealing it. Just by being alive you cut his tremendously.” Avery wasn’t sure how long the two of them had been walking but he was sure that he could see a glimmer of light in the distance. He hoped that it was the others still alive and waiting for him.

“You’re telling me another siren is here to kill me because I’m stealing his thunder?”


	17. Under Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has one question on their mind...how the hell is kit alive? And a manticore at that. Not everyone is thrilled with avery's decision but he knows kit will have answers.

Chapter 16 Under Control

When the two arrived back at the house the others were still busy fighting off an army of the arachnes. 

Roz and Brooks fought back to back at the front of the fight. Brooks slashed low at the arachnes’ legs while Roz swung her silver chains like a mini helicopter. The length of the chain created a small perimeter of safety around them. Avery hadn’t expected to see Brooks and his sister working so closely together. Nobody had noticed the two hunters approaching they were too busy battling amongst the chaos. Rei was on the porch kneeled in front of convulsing Bea. There was a large gash on her leg covering her jeans in blood, even from afar Avery could see the skin around it getting dark and deathly looking. Mike held her still as Rei tried to bandage her. Maja wielded two pieces of the broken porch to keep the arachnes from ambushing them. The other wolves ran back and forth growling deafeningly to intimidate their enemies. The arachnes didn’t hold back from their side of the fight. Their chorus of screeches could have brought freezing fear to anyone with a sense of self-preservation.

“We have to help them.” Avery rushed forward. Kit was moving more agilely and able to stand on his own, his manticore side must have had fast healing. “Kneel down so they won’t see you.” Even if Kit was in better shape Avery was taking it upon himself to protect him. 

“They were ordered not to hurt you.” Kit said stepping forward. Another group of arachnes rose from the woods behind the house. There was no way that their group was going to survive this if they continued to fight them head on-werewolves involved or not. “If they see you get involved then they might leave, they are not supposed to touch you.” Avery put Kit down slowly and drew his knives. It was becoming very clear that the other siren in town was coming after Avery specifically. 

“Stay down.” He ordered and turned the knives in his hands to that the blades were towards the back, it made it easier for him to stab his enemies when he brought the knives downward on them. “Okay.” He said taking a deep breath. He could already feel the tension and high emotional rates affecting him. He knew it would eventually overtake him if he stayed inside the chaos for too long. He was going to have to use the situation to his advantage. He sprinted towards the nearest Arachne. He jumped midstride and lifted his blades up ready to bring them down. The silver cut through the arachne’s shoulder flesh without hesitation. He used the knife to hold the Arachne still. He brought his second blade at an angle slicing through the spider’s neck. The monster’s painful screams quickly turned to muffled gurgling as it drowned in its own blood. Avery could smell the putrid odor from its blood flooding his senses. He watched as the creature’s head rolled off of its shoulders unto the floor. Any normal person would have been appalled at the sight, but any normal person wouldn’t be in that situation. The siren didn’t wait for the Arachne to decompose into a million little spiders like the others had. He continued to move forward pushing arachnes out of his way left and right. He needed to get to the center of it. He needed to make sure that all of the arachnes saw him. If Kit was right about them not being allowed to touch him then that was the only way that he could protect the others. The closer he got to the center of the fight the more he felt the emotions flooding in from all directions. He could feel the panic Rei and Mike had running through him making his heart run at light-speed. He felt the wrath rushing out in tsunami sized waved from the werewolves as they reached into the depths of their primal sides for the strength to keep fighting. He could feel the anxiety shared by everyone at the thought that he might not be coming back. It was all so distracting and converging to him at the same time. The emotions were a soundproof paper bag covering his head and muffling his mind. They were all he could see, feel, and taste. He swung his right arm out slashing at an Arachne who was on its way to ambush his sister from behind. The monster turned hissing at him. Their hissing was no longer chilling to him but irritating. He slashed with his left hand sinking his blade into its chest. The Arachne bellowed in pain, he could even feel its heart beating from the shaft of his knife. He twisted the knife, he wanted to inflict as much pain as he could. Roz was the first to see him. She saw his eyes turn silver, she knew that the siren inside him was starting to take over. 

“Ave.” She said as calmly as she could-which was not very. She had seen him in this condition before inside the cave in Colorado. She knew what was coming next, the sonic siren scream. The last time she saw him use it he destroyed a wall of solid stone into nothing but a pile of rocks. She didn’t want to be anywhere near him if he used it again. 

“Get away!” Avery said his eyes still focused on the wailing Arachne. His voice was raspy and deep, this was going to happen there was too much emotion in the air for him to try to stop it. “Now!” He commanded. His arms were beginning to shake, the power was coursing through his veins and demanding to escape. Roz looked around, how was she going to get everyone to safety? She nudged Brooks motioning for him to move. The Arachne thrusted its clawed hand out at him. Avery felt the clawed fingers pierce his side, maybe Kit was wrong after all. He knew that he only had seconds before the venom rendered him useless to the fight. The claws weren’t in deep but he figured they didn’t need to be if the venom did its job. He used his free hand to push the claws away from him. He closed his eyes focusing as much as he could in the small amount of time. 

“Everybody down!” Roz yelled pulling Brooks along with her by the collar of his jacket. The two landed on the gravel using their limbs to protect themselves and each other. She hoped that Avery being in the open air would be enough for her and the others to avoid being seriously wounded. Mike let go of Bea and dived off of the porch forcing Maja down unto the flower bed for coverage. Rei threw himself on top of Bea using his body to protect her. The other wolves looked around confused. Wren could see the silver lights in Avery’s eyes, she had never seen him or any siren use their powers but by how the others were acting she figured it couldn’t be good. 

“Ivy! Down!” She pointed to Avery whose eyes seemed to be glowing brighter and brighter. She dropped down to the ground ignoring the arachnes around her. She knew she should have covered her face but she was too curious about exactly how powerful the siren actually was. It felt like it was all in slow motion, Avery and the arachnes stood in the center of all of the porch lights. The darkness of the night surrounding everything else. Avery withdrew his knife from the Arachne and took a deep breath. She could see the muscles in his body tensing, preparing for the oncoming attack. He threw his head back shouting at the top of his lungs. The sound of his voice echoed even in the open air. She watched as Avery lowered his head still screaming. The sound shifted, it was louder, stronger, and unhuman. The small group of arachnes directly in front of him fell to their knees screeching in unison. At least Wren assumed they were screeching, she couldn’t hear them over the sound of Avery unleashing his wrath. She could see the dust around the siren lifting up in the trembles of its tremendous voice. She could see the other wolves peeking up to see Avery as well, she didn’t blame them. The group of arachnes started skittering around looking for a place to hide, there was nowhere to hide in the open. The sound of Avery’s voice stopped abruptly. Everyone raised their head to check on him, he was still standing. He was breathing heavily his body moving back and forth with every exhale. The two groups stood still in awe of what had just happened. Avery turned looking at all of the arachnes standing around, his eyes were no longer glowing. Ever since Kit had told him that the other siren saw him as a threat Avery figured it must have been because he was getting stronger and his powers were growing. He didn’t feel any stronger or more powerful, but after he had used his powers to release Kit from the other siren’s hold he figured something was up. He was going to give it another shot. He didn’t bother going through the mantra of the five senses, he was going to push it with pure will.

“Get away from my home!” He rasped out. The shout had not affected his voice but he needed his time to recover back to normal. Roz looked around confused, was he trying to control the arachnes? She was sure that he had grown stronger since he first discovered his abilities but he would have mentioned if he had the control ability. She watch the arachnes intently. She imagined the next few seconds were going to be him getting attacked. Like a trained army the arachnes calmly walked away into the darkness. The hunters and wolves sat still on the ground as the group of arachnes walked tranquilly past them as if they weren’t there. “Check on Beatriz.” Avery ordered to his sister. She watched him walk past her and back to the field of grass. “Everyone inside now!” He continued. He lugged Kit up from the crouching position he was in and pulled him along back towards the house. 

“Is that Kit?” Mike asked dusting herself off. She moved against the current of the group heading inside. 

“We have to get him inside and cleaned up.” Avery responded. Mike stood confused looking over Kit, how could he be there? How could he be alive? Why was he naked? 

“Avery let me take him, you need to go to the kitchen with Rei.” She lifted Kit’s other arm and pulled him away from Avery. 

“But I’m fine.” Avery said looking around making sure nothing or nobody was left behind. He felt fine, he wasn’t hurting.

“Avery that thing clawed you with its poison.” She pointed to his side. He looked down at himself, had forgotten that the Arachne had cut into his side. His shirt was drenched in blood. “How are you not on the floor right now?” She asked pulling Kit along. 

“I don’t know.” He ran his fingers over the small gashes above his hip. He could see small traces of venom mixed in with his blood. 

“Avery.” Brooks called out to him. The wolf started sprinting towards him. 

“Stay away!” Avery help his arms up. He didn’t know why the venom was not rendering him powerless like it had everyone else. “I don’t know what’s going on.” He took a small step forward making sure that everyone was several feet away from him. “Don’t touch me until Rei checks over the wound. Just take care of Kit.” He waited until everyone was inside to step over the threshold. He took the long way around the house into the kitchen to avoid touching anyone. 

In the kitchen Rei and Roz had Bea on the table holding her still as best as they could. She continued to convulse and moan in agony. 

“Sit down, and I’ll check your cuts.” Roz ordered. Maja came running in with Stormy and Wren close behind her. The three women held Bea down so that Rei could better help her out. Roz took off her pair of rubber gloves and replaced them with a clean pair. She sat across from Avery next to the breakfast nook at the other end of the kitchen. “Lift up your shirt.” She ordered collecting gauze and other supplies from the table.

“Roz,” Avery said pulling his shirt over his wounded side. “I don’t know why I’m not in pain.” He winced when she dove in and dabbed at the blood with a handful of alcohol cleansing wipe. “I think you might need stitches.” She said running her finger over the small gashes. 

“Roz, I’ll heal.” Avery sighed wincing when she placed pressure on it. 

“Before the next attack?” She retorted preparing the needle and surgical thread. He hated needles. 

“Even if I don’t the stitches will probably do more damage than help.” He pushed her hand away from his side. “You’re not going to give me stitches.” 

“I’m not playing around Avery.” She whispered angrily. 

“I’ll sleep it off.” He snapped back. “They aren’t that bad we should be focusing on Bea and Kit anyways.”

“Kit?” That stopped her from trying to stab him with the needle. “What do you mean Kit?”

“The manticore that dragged me away.” Avery reminded. “It was Kit being controlled by the other siren.”

“And you brought him back to the house?” 

“I turned him back to human, and he was all weak and scared and…naked.” He defended himself. He pulled his shirt off the entire way and stood up. “I couldn’t leave him there.” 

“How the hell is he even alive?” She asked. 

“We can ask him that after we take care of Bea.” He turned his attention to the Latina hunter. Rei had managed to dose her with the antidote to the venom which she had been attacked with. He was currently working on cleaning and bandaging the scratches on her body. 

“She will probably need to rest for a while.” Wren said running her fingers through Bea’s hair in a calming motion. “The pain of the venoms is drastic, even with werewolf endurance we needed to rest, I can’t imagine how it would affect humans.”

“I’ll go get a blanket so we can carry her upstairs.” Mike said walking towards the door. “She can rest in my room and I’ll keep watch over her for the night.”

“I’ll start making a list so we can all rest in shifts.” Roz said taking off the second pair of gloves. 

“The arachnes can’t come into the house.” Avery reminded. “And I doubt the other siren would be stupid enough to attack head on.”

“He won’t need to since you brought his little minion into the house willingly.” She sneered and walking out of the room. He knew she was going to be angry about his decision but he still stood by it. Even if Kit was still somehow being controlled they could find a way to use him for information. Even if not, Kit was a hunter, hunters protect each other. 

“I’m going to speak with Kit.” Avery said heading back into the living room. Kit sat alone on one side of the living room. The others stood in a group watching his every move, even though he wasn’t moving at all. He held a folded towel over his lap and what looked like an outfit picked from Avery’s closet. He didn’t know how long he was going to be able to provide clothes for all of these other guys before he ran out. He couldn’t possibly get all of the blood stains out of all of his clothing. Kit shook his leg back and forth anxiously, it had been so long since he spent time with people. His eyes lit up in relief when Avery walked into the room. There was something about the siren that calmed him. He assumed it was his power aura. He had spent the last few months being constantly controlled by one similar to it. He was thankful to be released from it but some part of him didn’t know how to act or what to do without it. Having the sirens power emanating near him made him feel more at ease, especially since he was back in his human form. “Kit, I need answers.” Avery said calmly. He took one of the throw blankets off of the nearest couch and wrapped it around the younger man. He figured it would make people more comfortable if he wasn’t naked on the couch. He sat down next to Kit trying to be as close to eye level as possible. Kit was still in shock, he may have been a trained hunter but hunters weren’t trained to deal with becoming demonic poison lions. Kit held on to the blanket tightly, it was warm and fuzzy similar to his lion’s coat. He looked up at Avery and nodded in agreement.

“Okay, do you know why I am not on the floor dying despite the fact that the arachne cut me?” He pointed to his wounded side. Kit looked at it calmly, he had seen so much carnage while being controlled that it didn’t faze him. 

“Sirens are immune to most supernatural poisons.” Kit answered slowly. He hadn’t used his human voice in so long it felt odd just hearing himself speak. “Mine included.” He looked around room taking it all in, he had grown accustomed to caves and forests he had almost forgotten the comfort of a home. 

“Then why would the other siren use you and the arachnes to try to kill me?” Avery asked. Kit shrugged. The siren controlling him didn’t tell him much. As far as the siren was concerned he was nothing but a wild animal. 

“He only ever gave me orders.” Kit said softly. He knew the others were trying to listen in on the conversation but he was focused on speaking with Avery only. “No reasons.” Avery nodded, if he was controlling something like Kit he doubted he would be giving out reasons either.

“And you don't know what he looks like?” The siren continued the interrogation. Kit shook his head, a blade of grass fell to the floor below him. 

“You don't honestly believe that?” Brooks interrupted. How could he not know what the siren looked like? Avery held his hand out shushing the blonde wolf but keeping his eyes on Kit. Kit was different, quiet, and scared. Nothing like the Kit he remembered growing up. The last thing he wanted was for the others to make the younger male go into a defensive state.

“He can change the way he looks.” Kit explained completely ignoring the werewolf. “The only way I knew who he was, was because of his voice and the power that emanated from him.” He paused for a second before adding the next comment. “It's almost the same power that emanates from you.” He didn't meet Avery's eyes, he wasn't sure how the older Hunter would take the news. He had felt the wrath of a siren before, and he had seen what Avery could do without powers, he wasn’t going to risk pissing him off.

“Because he is a siren too?” Robin asked. He bent forward and leaned his weight on the back of the couch he stood behind. 

“No,” Avery cut in. “Because the other siren might be one of my siblings.” He looked to Taima who stood next to Brooks. She nodded. “Sirens come in threes, they share their pool of power.” 

“And if he kills you he gets it all.” Kit added dispassionately, that much he knew about the other siren's intentions. 

“So what about the third siren?” Roz asked coming into the room. She was still pissed, Avery didn’t need to use his powers to sense that. She did bring up a good point. What about the third siren? “What is stopping the third siren from coming after you too?”

“Maybe he or she is already here too.” Brooks said.

“Or dead.” Taima added. “If this siren is coming after you just because you drain their powers then why would they not do that to the other siren?” Avery shrugged sighing.

“Let’s just focus on one problem at a time.” He turned his attention back to Kit. “So,” He said hesitantly. He didn’t know exactly how to word his next question because it could trigger Kit in a negative way. He figured it would just be best if he powered through it. “What the hell happened last year in Colorado? Kit, we thought you were dead.” The room grew silent and rigid. It was the one question everyone who knew Kit wanted to ask but didn’t want to be the one to do it. Kit sensed their uneasiness. He looked out at the others with confusion riddling his face. “Kit there had to be a reason why he chose to enslave you specifically.”

“He was looking for you.” Kit answered running his fingers up and down the blanket anxiously. “I just happened to be there.” 

“The hunt in Colorado was the first time you used your powers.” Brooks reminded. “He must have sensed it.” Kit nodded in agreement. 

“Kit,” Roz said sternly. Avery turned to her glaring. She took a second to change her tone. She was frustrated but that wasn’t necessarily Kit’s fault. It was Avery’s. “Please, just tell us everything you remember since the hunt in Colorado.” Avery turned to Kit again nodding in agreement to his sister’s request. 

“Okay.” Kit said thinking to himself. “After the wendigoes dragged me away…”

 

I thought they were going to kill me but they didn’t. They dragged me into some caves. One of them bit my side before they were distracted by something else outside. They imitated my voice trying to mess with my mind. I crawled out of the cave and tried to go back to camp but I didn’t know where it was. I could feel the shift starting a few hours after they bit me. The bite was already healing. I knew I couldn’t go back to my family, they wouldn’t accept me if I was a supernatural creature. I had no idea what I was turning into, all I knew was that it wasn’t a wendigo. My senses became stronger and it hurt. Every bird in the trees sounded like it was right next to me. Direct sunlight burned my eyes. I could smell everything, everything. Most things in the forest I don’t want to smell again. I watched from a distance as my parents searched for me in the woods for weeks but I couldn’t come out to them. I knew they would kill me. The thought of what they would do to me saddened me at first, then it angered me. Turns out anger is the things I need for my shift to take place. It hurt like hell shifting. My bones felt like they were breaking, my insides rearranging into their new form. My senses were heightened even more in my manticore form. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t even know what I was. Until he came along. I watched him from the tree tops as he searched the area around the cave. It was like he could see the things that had happened before. He could sense you, Avery, he could sense your powers. He found me watching him. I didn’t want to attack him, all I wanted was to shift back into my human form. He used his powers on me. He forced me into servitude. I fought him the best I could but I didn’t have control over my own abilities and he won. He dragged me along with him through the country. We stopped to look for this “other one” in multiple towns. But every time we got there the “other one” had already left. He was following your power trail. The more you used your powers the faster he moved. Then he found here. He watched you for weeks, forcing me to live in the woods. He was surprised when he found out who you were. He wasn’t expecting you to be a Bishops, let alone be in a relationship with a wolf. He had always known that he needed more of us to kill you. That’s where the arachnes came in. We found a colony of them living in the south of Mexico, so he forced them into servitude too. He thought he had a chance to kill you in Chicago. All of the world’s strongest hunters in one place, he tried and failed. I was his secret weapon. You seem to trump him every time he attacks without even knowing. I wouldn’t be surprised if he came after you himself. He has one more plan for you I’m sure. You threaten him. The moment you came into your power he felt his dwindle and he wants it back. He wants to kill you before you figure out what you can really do. You’re stronger than he originally thought, he was sure you would never be able to break me or the arachnes out of his control. 

Avery sat unsure what to say. Everything that Kit had just said hit him with a painful dosage of reality. The attack in Chicago happened because of him, he was the target. The other hunters died because they were looking for him. Kit was enslaved because of him. His friends were in danger because of him. He knew that everyone in the room was putting their lives on the line for him, they did it willingly but he still felt the guilt creeping up on him. 

“Avery we need to think of a defense plan.” Roz said cutting into his thoughts. “We need you to tap into your powers again…” She paused. “Do you think you can do it?” Avery nodded slowly. He didn’t know how to control his powers completely but he knew that he had the capabilities. He could feel his powers growing stronger. It was almost like the closer he was to the other siren the stronger he grew. 

“We are safe for the night.” Brooks said interrupting. “We are all inside and safe. Mike and Maja are going to make a barrier of viburnum to protect us from the arachnes and the other siren.” The others agreed. “We need to rest up and tomorrow we can figure it out.” 

“Yeah,” Avery agreed. “We should get everyone cleaned up and rested.” He stood and motioned for Kit to follow him. He was sure Kit was dying to clean himself up. The two hunters made their way up the stairs towards Avery’s room. He could see Bea tucked into Mike’s bed at the end of the hall. He hated to see her, or anybody, like that. It was his fault.

“She’ll be fine with the antidote.” Kit said. “Just a night of rest and she will be back to normal in the morning.” Avery nodded. He didn’t know much about the Arachne toxins so he just had to take Kit’s word for it. Avery led him into his room.

“You can use my bathroom to shower and change.” He stated opening the door to his restroom. 

“It’s been so long since I’ve had a good shower.” Kit smiled. Avery opened the shower door and started turning the knobs to get the water ready. 

“Here you go.” He held his hand under the stream to check the temperature. 

“Thanks.” Kit said feeling the water himself. “For breaking his control over me.”

“No problem.” Avery nodded turning to head out. 

“And for everything else too.” Kit added. That stopped Avery. He turned to look at the younger man. Kit had tears welling up in his eyes. He had never seen Kit cry, complain, bitch and moan sure but not cry. “After everything I did and said to you, you are still the one person who is helping me, no questions asked.”

“Kit,” Avery stammered. He didn’t know what he could even say. He had never thought that this moment would happen, at least not with Kit.

“My own family would be hunting me down right now.” He sniffled. “My family isn’t like yours.” He was right, not many hunting families would be accepting of one of their own becoming a supernatural creature. The hunting council enforced that they be either caged and controlled or killed. Killing was usually the easiest option. “My family would…” He paused. He didn’t want to think of the fact that his own family could turn on him. 

“Hey, hey, no.” Avery said pulling him into a hug. Kit was the last person he expected to hug, especially since they were both half naked. “Don’t think about that.” He couldn’t imagine what Kit was going through internally. He couldn’t begin to imagine what it would be like if his own family turned on him when he came into his own powers. Kit held on tightly to him trying his best not to sob out loud. “Look when we get out of this mess, we can call my parents and figure out what to do.” Kit nodded slowly. “You can stay here with Mike and I until we both get our powers under control.”

“Hide in plain sight?” Kit asked. Avery nodded. “Okay.” Kit finally let go of Avery’s torso. “Thanks.”

“I’ll be in my room if you need anything.” Avery said leaving him to his own accord. Avery walked out of the restroom to find Brooks sitting on his bed. The two of them hadn’t really spoken since Avery had slammed him against the wall. Avery’s powers were growing stronger, he was having a hard time controlling them from time to time. 

“Hey.” Brooks greeted quietly. 

“Hey.”

“How are you feeling?” The wolf asked standing up. He had seen Avery get dragged away by a the manticore, and then getting slashed by the Arachne. He knew the siren was immune to the venoms but a wound was a wound. 

“I’m fine.” He closed the bathroom door behind him, he didn’t want Kit to hear them. “You?” 

The wolf shrugged. “I’m okay.” There was tears in his shirt but the skin beneath it was perfectly fine. 

“Brooks, I’m sorry about what I did earlier.” He moved closer to the other male hesitantly. The last time he approached him Brooks pulled away in fear. Brooks didn’t react the same way that time.

“It’s okay…”

“No it isn’t.” Avery cut him off quietly. “It doesn’t matter how angry I am, it is not okay for me to hurt you like that.” He placed his hand on Brooks’s knee. “What I did was not okay.” He whispered. The two of them sat there looking at each other, in the last couple of days things had gotten so muddied the only thing they could think of was Brooks’s indiscretion. 

“Do you think that things will ever be back to normal?” The wolf asked placing his hand over Avery’s. 

“I don’t know.” Avery sighed leaning his forehead on the blonde’s shoulder. “It might just take time.” He closed his eyes and pushed everything out of his mind aside from being close to the wolf, his wolf. Despite everything that was happening around them Avery was still sure that Brooks was entirely his if he demanded. Problem was he wasn’t so sure if he could be entirely Brooks’s.


	18. Siren's Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The showdown against his sister that Avery was waiting arrives. However, when the truth comes out it isn't what Avery was expecting.

Chapter 17 Siren’s Song

The group spent the night sleeping in shifts. Avery tried to avoid the glares that the others gave him-mostly Roz-because he spent his time looking after Kit making sure he ate and slept well. He pulled himself away from the others and into his room. He sat on his bed reading, Kit sleeping soundly next to him. It had been so long since Kit had slept in a real bed that he fell asleep almost instantly. Avery insisted in skipping his sleep shift so that Kit could rest some more-Roz wasn’t very happy about that either. He ignored her passive aggressive comments and did what he thought was best. The sun began to shine through the shutters on his window. They had survived another night. Now they just had to survive another day. 

“Avery.” Roz called to him from his door. She had refused to let him be in his room alone with Kit with the door closed. She made him feel like a twelve year old boy. “I need to talk to you outside.” He rolled his eyes, she didn’t even bother to say “please.” She didn’t wait for him to respond and left down the stairs. He sighed listening to her chunky heels clacking down the steps. Only Roz would think it was smart to wear heels on a hunt. He stood up stretching his muscles. He lifted his shirt looking over the wounds left by the Arachne. They were gone for the most part, almost healed. He headed out after Roz, he might as well get the ordeal over with. He knew exactly what was going to happen. He had expected it to happen a lot sooner. Robin and Wren walked past him heading towards his room.

“Roz told us to keep an eye on that kid you brought in from the forest or something.” Wren said turning into his bedroom. Robin just shrugged and followed Wren. 

“Alright.” Avery answered continuing his way downstairs. The front door was open and all he could see was Roz’s shadow waiting for him on the other side. The morning sun was bright and straining on his eyes, it took a few seconds for them to adjust. Mike and Rei stood outside with Roz. Great, he was going to be getting a group roasting. Mike was leaning on the porch railing but straightened herself up when she saw Avery exit the door. He scanned all three of their faces, he couldn’t tell whether Mike and Rei were on his side or not. Their emotions were overshadowed by Roz’s anger. “You wanted to talk?” Avery asked. Roz slammed the door closed to keep the others from hearing. “Their wolves Roz, they’re gonna hear everything.” 

“Yeah,” His sister laughed coldly. “Your house is full of wolves.” He didn’t answer her, he was sure she wasn’t looking for an answer anyways. “And a manticore,” She continued. “And a Piasa, the Native American dragon.” 

“Also hunters and siren.” Avery added monotonously. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” She snapped. Finally they could get this show on the road and out of the way. “First you bring in Taima, who tried to kill you in your own restaurant.”

“Who’s Taima?” Mike asked.

“Jerilyn, she’s Native American.” Avery explained. “The whole blonde thing is a façade to hide her identity.” Mike nodded slowly not completely sure if she understood.

“Then!” Roz continues ignoring the others. “You get dragged off into the dark by a manticore and you bring him back into the house so he can shower and sleep in your bed.” She may have been trying to keep her voice low but Avery wasn’t sure, she was doing a poor job either way. 

“The whole thing with Taima was a misunderstanding.” He defended. “We are both trying to keep things safe here in the area.” Both Mike and Rei stood by uncomfortably. Avery was still confused as to why they were both outside with his sister and him. “And I couldn’t just leave Kit out there alone.”

“They are both enemies until proven otherwise.” She reminded.

“Proven by who, Roz?” He asked. “By you? I’m not like you!” The other two siblings stood by silently. Mike knew that her brother sided with Roz. They were together after all, part of it had to be because of their views on hunting life and laws. She and Avery were a bit more lax about the whole thing, they had to be, Avery especially. The two of them had learned that they were incredibly skilled in adapting to change. “How was I supposed to leave Kit there? He broke through the other siren’s powers to beg for help!” 

“Do you remember anything about Kit?” She asked.

“Do you?” He snapped back. “That Kit up there is not the same as the one we knew! The Kit we knew was cocky and obnoxious! He didn’t know when to shut the hell up!”

“He is very different.” Mike whispered from behind Avery. “He seems quiet and weak. Like a dog who got constantly beaten by their old owner.” 

“Micheleen you’re not helping.” Rei said sternly.

“Why?” Mike asked. “Because I don’t agree with your girlfriend?” She shook her head in disbelief. “Just because we don’t agree with what you guys are saying it doesn’t mean we are wrong.”

“Stay out of this Mike.” Roz hissed.

“Don’t talk to her like that.” Avery defended stepping completely in front of Mike. The action alone brought flames to Roz’s eyes. She would never admit it but she was jealous of how close Mike and Avery had grown. He acted like an older brother to her now. He had abandoned her and Mike took over her spot. 

“I knew we shouldn’t have allowed you to leave Chicago last year.” Roz said beginning to pace back and forth. That word irked him. Allowed. 

“Allowed?” He repeated. “I’m not a child who you can just control Roslyn!” 

“It all started the moment you met him!” She pointed to the house as if he could see through it. Not that he needed to, he knew exactly who she was talking about. “Both of you have changed for the worse from his influence.”

“Leave him out this!” He stepped forward to her. Mike held his hand. He would never lay his hand on his sister but she still felt more secure anchoring him in a moment of rage. “He had nothing to do with this!” Roz turned to him smiling. It wasn’t a sincere smile, it was the kind of smile only someone behind a machine gun full of ammo would give. She had found her ammo and she was ready to aim. 

“How are you going to deal with what he did after all of this is over?” That was low blow. Even Rei looked to her in shock.

“Shut the fuck up!” Avery said moving forward. Both Mike and Rei held him back. They had to brace themselves even without his siren powers he was still stronger than them. “That is none of your business!” Roz had never seen him so angry, especially not at her. His reaction quieted her for a second but she was never one to back down from a fight. Avery sensed something from her. He stepped back. Maybe that was why she was acting like this.

“Envious? You, Roslyn?” He said mockingly. Her obnoxious smile melted from her face.

“I’m not envious of anything.” She denied. Her brother shook his head, he didn’t expect her to confess.

“I’m a siren, sis.” He reminded. “I can feel your envy. It’s stifling everyone else’s emotions right now.” He wanted to smile and be cocky but he was too pissed at her to carry through. His words however, could. “So what could possibly trigger you? The perfect hunter, the faultless saint to fall to the level of us mere imperfect people?” She didn’t answer, she just glared at him from behind Rei’s shoulder. “Well?” He egged on. 

“We just don’t like how trusting you two have become of these things.” Rei said as calmly as he could. 

“These things?” Mike asked. “Rei, they are people, just like us.”

“I am one of THESE THINGS.” Avery hissed out scornfully. The words alone reminded him how to other hunters he and Brooks might as well be rabid animals. “These things,” He yelled out at both of their siblings. “Accepted me no questions asked! Despite the fact that we are not the same thing!” Neither Roz nor Rei said anything. Mike knew that what he brother had said broke the last straw for Avery. Her brother rarely spoke, of course this was what he said. “These things, have risked their lives for both Mike and I multiple times!” His voice was at full volume. There was no doubt in any of their minds that those inside-even the humans-could hear him. “Unlike the human hunters I grew up with who demanded that I prove myself over and over only to continue to treat me like an outsider!” 

“Avery.” Mike whispered pulling on his hand. He pulled out of her grasp and continued to scream. 

“That’s not the real problem!” He continued. “So tell me what the problem is Roslyn! Is it that I found a way out of that life?” 

“Because I wanted a way out too!” Roz yelled. She pushed Rei out of her way and moved closer to her brother. Avery knew she was telling the truth, he could feel it. The moment she confessed he could feel her sense of relief washing over both of them. “You left! You left me to deal with all of it by myself!” She ranted. Avery was pissed at her but he knew that she needed to speak her mind. Roz always held her feelings in until they exploded. Everything she was saying he knew she had been holding in for months. “Do you realize how much pressure everyone back home is putting me under?” She started to tear up. She was angry, frustrated, and so damn tired of all of it. “I have to deal with it by myself, Mom and Dad expect me to be the one to take over!” He rolled his eyes. She wasn’t the only one dealing with things beyond her control. “I have so much on my shoulders, while you’re here blissfully unaware of all of it!” The tears were streaming down her cheeks. Avery had to push her emotions away to keep his mind clear. Did she honestly think that everything he had dealt with since he had left was a blissful actuality? “I needed you! It was supposed to be me and you against the world!” 

“I didn’t have a choice, Roz.” He said quietly. Despite his best efforts his sister’s emotional confession still got to him. He could feel the tears staining his face. “If I had stayed and slipped up we would have all been in trouble. You, Me, Mike and Rei.” He sniffled trying his best to keep his face straight. “Mom and Dad.” He added. “They would have been destroyed, they would have lost everything. Staying would have put everyone in danger.” 

“We’re all in danger anyways.” She whispered angrily. He had to keep himself from punching the nearest porch post. He already blamed himself for everything that had happened. Now he knew his sister did too. It was one thing to know, but it was much more painful to hear it directly from her. 

“Who is that?” Rei asked. The two siblings broke out of their little world. They all turned to look down the long gravel driveway leading to the house. A neon green beetle car made its way closer to them. 

“Dammit what day is it?” He asked turning to Mike. The past few days had all blended together and he lost track of time.  
“Wednesday.” Mike said looking at her phone. 

“That’s gotta be Harley.” He wiped his face dry. “We made plans to go hiking or something a few days ago.”

“Well get rid of her!” Roz ordered. “How do you know she’s not the siren?”

“Don’t tell me what to do Roslyn!” He growled. “Get inside, all of you.” He turned to the approaching car and took the few steps down off the porch. Mike was the one to usher the other two inside. Avery put on his best smile and acted like what had just happened never did. 

“Hi.” Harley smiled stepping out of her car. The neon green Volkswagen was exactly what he would assume a girl that looked like her would drive. But not the kind of car he assumed a cop would drive. Maybe it was better for him not to assume anything anymore. “How are you?” She asked cheerfully. She had her hair pulled back into a high pony tail, the long curls giving her steps an extra bounce. The sunlight showed the different shades of brown and reds, it made her eyes look that much brighter. 

“I’m good,” He greeted smiling. “How are you?” She almost skipped to him smiling the whole time. With everything that had been happening the past few days it was nice to have someone be excited to see him. Her happiness and perkiness was starting to rub off on him. 

“I know I’m kind of early.” She said looking over his sleeping clothes. “But this is the best time to go for a run, 9 AM.” They had spoken about going around noon. She extended her arm and pulled him into a hug. “That, and I couldn’t wait to see you.” The hug gave him his first genuine smile. She squeezed him tightly burying her face into his chest. 

“I’ll forgive you this time.” He laughed down at the fairy princess. “I do have some bad news though.”  
Harley pulled away looking up at him worriedly. “What do you mean?” She asked her eyebrows giving more expression than her voice. “What’s wrong?” He hated to disappoint her. Her big blue eyes showing nothing but concern for him. “I even bought a new workout outfit to impress you.” She did a quick turn so he could see her. He did appreciate the black and pink striped yoga pants and bright tank top to match hugging her and showing off her tones physique. 

“I see that.” He smiled down at her. “But, things are kind of crazy here right now.” He pointed to the house. He didn’t look back but was 100% sure that the others were watching them through the front windows. “I might need to take a rain check for a couple of days.” 

“Is it anything I can help out with?” She asked looking over the house. “I mean if people are fighting or something I have training in conflict resolution.” Avery smiled down at her shaking his head.

“It’s not that.” He took her hands in his as he spoke. They were soft but firm, the muscles underneath her skin were taut and strong. “I just have some unforeseen visitors that my roommates and I need to prepare for.” He moved his thumbs up and down caressing hers. The two sat there looking over the other’s face for a few seconds. 

“Okay.” She groaned a bit discontent. Her shoulders slouched forward sighing deeply. “When do you think you want to go on this hike?” She pushed a half smile towards him trying to remain hopeful.

“I really don’t know right now.” He whispered his hand was running up and down her forearm in a soothing motion. “Can I just call you?”

“Most guys who say that to me don’t normally call back.” She admitted looking down and pulling away from his hands. “Tough girls are too much to handle for some guys, I guess.” 

“Harley, it’s not that.” He said reaching for her again. She let herself be pulled closer into his body. “Just look at me.” He placed his finger under her chin and lifted her face to meet his. “I just can’t let things get crazier than they are already.” Something about the woman in front of him made him want to tell her everything. He didn’t like being the one to put the disappointment in her eyes. She nodded still pouting. As if she needed to pout with her already pouty lips. She lifted herself unto her tip toes and pressed her lips to his. He could smell her perfume, it was sweet. “Candied apple.” He thought to himself smiling into their kiss. She must have felt his smile because she was smiling too. His mind shifted to think of Brooks and how he would feel about them kissing. 

“Sorry.” She giggled when she pulled away. Even with Brooks in his life he could not deny that he was in fact developing feeling for her. He knew that his feeling for her were probably accelerated because of what Brooks had done. “I was just planning on doing that at the end of our hike and didn’t want to wait any longer.” He just smiled down at the fairy princess in front of him.

“I’m glad you did.” He said. The two of them stood there smiling at each other for a few more seconds. He liked that the two of them shared multiple serene silences just staring, usually silence between him and others was filled with awkwardness. The silence didn’t last long…at least not for Avery. He was pulled away from her face by a quiet humming in the distance. The sounds in the air was intoxicating. He could feel his senses starting to dwindle from his focus. “Oh no.” He said stepping away from her. Harley didn’t seem to notice his change in demeanor. 

“Okay, I guess I’ll go and wait for you to call me.” She said cheerfully. “I’ll talk to you later?” She asked. Avery shook his head breathing deeply to clear his head for a second. 

“Umm, yeah.” He stumbled out. He looked at her and noticed something black as night moving behind her. He focused his eyes on the skittering shapes in the distance. He didn’t need to see their faces to know what they were. “Wait.” He grasped her wrist and pulled her back. He couldn’t let her move to far away, or closer to those things. The humming in the air was growing louder and louder calling to him, demanding him to go to the source. “Don’t let them touch you.” He stammered. She saw his eyes were glassy and unfocused. 

“Avery are you okay?” She asked looking closer at his face. 

“Harley go inside the house.” He wanted to take her inside but his body refused to move towards his home. Everything in him wanted to follow the mind-altering song in the air. 

“What are those things?” She asked looking behind them. There was a line of arachnes moving in on them. 

“Get inside now!” He ordered. “Please.” He tried to push his siren powers on her but he couldn’t muster enough focus to pull it off. She stood still watching the arachnes approach. She moved closer to him wrapping her arms around his. Her fear would have normal flood his senses but the humming in the air was much too strong. 

“Avery?” Mike called from the porch. She spotted the arachnes instantly. The others filtered out of the door unto the porch. 

“Get her away from them!” Avery shouted to the others prying Harley’s hold on him. “Harley, don’t let those things touch you.” He reminded her as he passed her off to Mike. He turned to the arachnes who were still moving closer. He watched as Harley struggled against Mike’s hold. She turned to him multiple times saying things but he didn’t hear her past the loudness of the humming. The longer the song went on the more his skin itched to be closer to the source. He felt his body moving without his permission away from the others and from safety. The song was deafening to him. He looked back several times, each time he was farther and farther away from the others. He could see his sister shouting out to him but he didn’t hear anything past the humming in his head. The group of hunters and werewolves began fighting off the arachnes circling them. He even saw Harley pull a gun out from god knows where and shooting towards the monsters creeping closer to her. 

He dazed in and out of consciousness as he moved. He wasn’t sure how long he had been walking for, his house was no longer in sight. He wasn’t entirely sure which direction he had even headed in. The ground underneath his feet changed several times from soft grasses to hard stones and uneven gravel. He stumbled many times but they didn’t register in his mind, not even the sprained ankle he got from them. His eyes were set straight forward searching for the source of the song. He could feel himself getting closer and closer to it. His heart raced faster and faster and he stumbled towards it. He was excited but he didn’t know why. He felt like a child seeing a relative again after not seeing them for years. He knew there was a part of him that he would discover when he reached his destination. The humming was stopped by the sound of running water. He was standing in it, it was freezing. He looked down, he was at the edge of a river. The nearest river in clear waters was about an hour and a half away from his home. He stumbled out of the water towards the edge of the river. There was nothing there, nothing for him. 

“I knew you were one of mine the moment I saw how beautiful you were,” He heard a smooth velvety voice say from  
behind him. “But I never imagined you would be this powerful so soon.” The voice was unmistakable to him. He had only heard it a few times but it was distinct. It made sense in a way, things had all started to happen the immediately after he met him. He turned to face the other siren that had been terrorizing him. The Latino man from table 7 at the restaurant. He sat on a large rock at the edge of the river. His feet dangled over the rock into the water. He wore only black denim jeans, Avery had only seen him in dress clothes. It was odd to see such an elegant man so informally dressed. The man reached down cupping his hands and listing water out. He lowered his head and poured the water down his hair. His hair was thicker and longer, just past his shoulders. The scene reminded Avery of the Waterhouse painting he had seen many times when he researched sirens after learning about his powers. 

“You’re the other siren.” Avery spoked softly. “My brother?” The man laughed softly at him. 

“I know I look young.” He spoke wringing the remaining water from his hair. “But I’m not.” Avery wasn’t sure what the siren meant. 

“I don’t believe I ever got your name.” Avery said calmly, he wanted to keep things calm. He had no weapons on him and he had no idea what the other siren was capable of. He hoped that if enough time passed the others would find him.

“Most people don’t call their parent by their first name.” The man stated. “My son.”


	19. Two Elements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avery has come face to face with the siren who has tried to kill him. Knowing a fight is coming his way Avery tries to pry information out first.

Chapter 18 Two Elements

His father? He had called Avery his son. The words sent him into a mental vortex. He had assumed that the other siren would be his sibling, but his father. The man in front of him was an unadulterated contrast to his adoptive father, physically and in essence. His dad may have been scary and deadly but not dangerous to him or others who had not hurt an innocent life. He could look at his dad and see the kindness and love in his eyes despite everything he had been through in his life, it was those things that made him as powerful a leader as he was. But his birth father, this siren, didn’t have that aspect to him. His face may have been warm and inviting and eerily like Avery’s, his voice may have had a soothing and calming tone, but his eyes…they were cold and dead. It was like someone took Avery and replaced his eyes with doll’s eyes. The older siren stood there smiling at his son. The smile sent chills and shivers down Avery’s back, the man’s lips had parted, his cheeks lifted, his eyes remained the same. The smile was dead. Avery felt like all the blood in his body had been drained. This man. This man was his biological father.

“I thought my mother was the siren,” Avery said breaking eye contact with his father. He couldn’t stand to look into those dead eyes any longer. He shifted slightly on his feet, uneasiness creeping over him. “Not my father.” He added. The other siren continued washing his hair and skin as Avery spoke. He didn’t seem at all tense or bothered by being face to face with his enemy. The sun made his dark skin glow bringing forward the golden undertones in his coloring. The scenery between the two of them was ironically serene considering the emotions attached to the situation. If the two of them could be plucked out of the scene the picture could be used as a photograph framed in any home. The birds were chirping happily in the trees in the distance. The sun was bright and soothing on their skin. A slight breeze made the grasses dance around them. All that was missing was the picnic basket and blanket for them chit chat.

“These people lied to you your whole life,” The man ran his fingers through his hair not looking down at the younger man. His hair cascaded down his shoulders smoothly. If the man had not attempted to murder him multiple times Avery would have surely asked him what kind of treatment he used. His own hair suffered from dryness, but he ignored the urge. “And you still believe everything they tell you?” He shook his head chuckling to himself at his son’s expense. Avery had not thought about that, he hated that he was right. He had a point. “Your mother was the one who needed protection from me.” He stated dispassionately pushing his hair behind his shoulders. The lack of emotion in the man’s voice continued to send chills down Avery’s body. Although Avery was standing motionless he continued to look around hoping that the others would show up to help him. The only thing he could think of doing was buy himself time. That plan rarely worked when it came to dealing with supernatural creatures. It was all he had since he had not hidden weapons into his pajamas.

“Why did you attack the hunters in Chicago?” Avery had a lot of questions. Asking them was the only way that he could think of buying time. Hopefully this siren liked to talk about himself and his charades enough for Avery to survive.

“Because I thought you were there.” The other man answered. “Don’t you remember?” He turned to face Avery. A glimmering object shone in the sunlight catching the hunter’s eyes. It was the necklace he had returned to the man in the hoodie in Chicago. He had found it on the floor when the two of them ran into each other on the street. 

“That was you?” Avery asked. The man nodded calmly. He stood up on the rock keeping his tranquil gaze on his son. His body language was lax, he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to do whatever the hell he was thinking of doing. The calm demeanor of the older man bothered Avery more than anything, he was confident in himself, something that Avery lacked. He stood looking down at the other like some model waiting for his photograph to be taken. 

“Valentino, Val for short.” The man said stepping down the rock. “Nice to finally meet you.” Avery felt his muscles twitch at the sight of the man moving towards him. His fight or flight sense wanted him to choose flight but his mind was telling him he needed to fight. “How much do you actually know about sirens?” Val asked still moving lazily towards his son. Avery didn’t respond, he knew that there was no way that in less than a year he could have acquired more knowledge than Val had in however fucking long he had been alive. Val laughed at him again. “Your little waitress friend was right when she told you sirens come in threes.” He stood in front of Avery looking him over as if admiring his own creation. He remembered the first time they met and how Val had studied his features then. He felt as insecure now as he did then. “Aside from you of course.” He reached out and ran his fingers through Avery’s hair. “Your natural color is much more suiting.” He said examining the strands twirling them around his fingers. Up close Avery could see the genetic similarities the two of them shared, the eyes, the mouth, the skin tone. Avery wanted to pull away but he knew any sudden movements would just trigger the predatory instinct in Val. 

“You just kill off all of your children.” In his mind Avery had meant it to be a question but he already knew it was true. Val nods smiling. He patted Avery’s hair back in place. That smile was starting to piss Avery off. 

“You should be proud.” The older siren sat down at the edge of the river dipping his feet into the water again. “You’re one of the only ones to make it to adulthood.” He leaned back placing his weight on his elbows. He closed his eyes and savored the feeling on the sunlight bathing his skin. Avery took several steps away from the other man and sat down too. If we was going to be forced to spend time with this man he might as well get the most information he could out of him. This was the first time he had ever been face to face with another of his kind…that he was aware of. “Those damn hunters sure did a lot to keep you away from me.”

“So where is the third?” Avery asked. He wanted to sound as nonchalant as possible but he didn’t know if he had accomplished that or not. “If sirens come in threes, where is the third?” He knew the answer but he needed to hear it from Val’s mouth. 

Val sighed turning his head looking over at Avery. “I was the only one for over forty years.” His voice was soothing as always. “Until you came along…of course.” The pause in his statement was enough for Avery to sense the distain from the older man. The only sound around them was the running water splashing lightly in the background. “Then I sensed your powers awaken.” Avery didn’t respond. “I never planned to reveal myself to you.” Val sighed as if disappointed. “But you seem to dwarf any attempt I have made on you. The fact that you overpowered your little manticore friend was an infuriating surprise.” His voice didn’t sound infuriated, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t in fact angry. “So I had to resort to plan C. Killing you myself.” Val assumed that the words would shock his son but clearly Avery had seen that coming. The Arachnes Plan A. Manticore: Plan B. Siren: Plan C. Avery had seen the pattern without a doubt. “I was hoping that you would just give up and let them kill you, sirens aren’t really the type to go in for the kill, you know?” The fact that Val spoke to Avery like he knew him frightened the younger siren more than the actual words he spoke. “Not to mention how much power it takes to kill another siren. There is a whole ritual involved, it is so much work.” He scoffed waving a hand dismissively. “I should really just stop sleeping around, but…whatever.”

Ritual. That was the only word that stuck in Avery’s mind. Ritual sacrifice. He never thought that would be an option for his death.

The younger siren kept an eye on his father and an eye out for his friends. He didn’t know how realistic it was for him to expect his friends to show up but he had to hope. “How do you sense my powers?” He asked. 

“We share our powers Avery. Same source.” Val stated as if it was the obvious. Same source. Avery recalled his conversation with Taima, she had mentioned a pool of power that sirens shared. He and Val held a collective power. By those rules then they must be equally strong. The only difference was that Val had experience where Avery just had raw power emerging at random.

“So if you kill the other sirens, you keep it all to yourself?”

“Do you realize how much a single siren can do when there is no limitation to their power?” Val asked. He sat forward wrapping his arms around his knees. He seemed young at heart, Avery supposed that that was the only way someone could withstand to live forever and not go completely crazy.

“So it’s all about power with you?” Avery asked. He could feel his heart beat starting to race faster. He was nothing to the other siren, he was nothing but an obstacle stopping him from getting what he wanted. Val laughed out loud. His voice was cold and hard for the first time.

“We’re sirens Avery. Our powers are based on manipulation and sex not hugs and kisses.” The distain in his voice was not hidden anymore. Avery narrowed his eyes at the older siren, he didn’t agree with him. “You can deny it all you want, but I know your siren half influences you greatly.” Val lifted his feet from out of the water still leaning forward. “You feel the urge to overpower others with your sexuality, use them, and take whatever you want from them?” His smile turned predatory. “I feel it too, after all my siren is sire to yours.”

Avery couldn’t deny that. “I feel it.” He said softly nodding at his father. Just because he couldn’t deny it, it didn’t mean that he wanted to say it out loud. “But unlike you, I don’t need power over others to prove myself.” The smile melted from Val’s face. “I might be a siren but I’m not a sexual predator.” The older siren sat looking over sternly, he didn’t appreciate the words he was hearing. “Because even before my powers became active I was strong. Strong enough to defeat something like you.” Avery was scared of the other man but fear was going to stop him from taking him down. He may be a siren but he had been a hunter first, and one of the best.

The young siren didn’t have time to react when Val pounced on him. It had happened so fast he was in shock to find himself on the floor with Val pinning him down. He felt talons rip into his forearms. The tearing of his skin left like fire touching his skin. The ripping of his skin hurt but he’d rather have his arms in pain rather than his face. The talons were a new feature to the siren archetype that he wasn’t aware of. He would have sat and wondered when he would develop that ability, or if he would at all but he was too busy trying to get the older siren off of him. He lifted his legs from beneath Val and kicked the older man away. The older siren didn’t land too far away from him but it was enough for Avery roll away and stand on his feet. Avery took off running. He didn’t know exactly which direction to run in. The blood from his wounds leaving a constrating trail to the vibrant greens of the grasses surrounding them. He decided to follow the edge of the river hoping that it would eventually lead him to something. He looked back to see the bright silver eyes of his father staring daggers at him. Val lay on the ground grunting in pain. Avery turned back when he heard bones snapping. 

Bones turned and jutted out of Val’s back. The skin pierced open to expose grey feathers protruding and growing. 

Wings. 

Another thing Avery was not aware that siren’s had. He didn’t want them, they looked like they hurt. If they were both running Avery knew he could take on Val. Now that Val was growing wings he wasn’t so sure. He turned fast and started running again. He held his arms close to his chest. He could feel the blood streaming down his chest and legs. Pain shooting through his arms with every step. He didn’t look back anymore, he didn’t care to know how far away he had gotten, he only cared that there was space between the two of them. He started feeling lightheaded as he moved. It might have been the lack of sleep, lack of eating, and stress but the blood loss definitely didn’t make it better. He knew that eventually he would start moving slower and slower if he didn’t find some sort of refuge. That was if he didn’t get caught by his father who could apparently fly. The sound of wings flapping sent lightning bolts through his body. There was no way he was going to get away from Val. He felt Val’s talons piercing through his shoulders. 

Avery screamed in pain as the other siren lifted him into the air. His entire body weight was hanging from his wounded shoulders. He wanted to pass out, he wanted the pain to end. The anger and hatred Val held towards him seeped into his conscious through his wounds. He reached up trying to release himself from the other’s grasp. The slashes on his forearm made his own grasp weak and useless. He needed to separate himself from Val’s hold, he had never felt such pure hatred. It was too much, the hatred was overpowering and frightening that one person could hold so much darkness inside of them. It was worse that this person was a part of him. This man had made him, he was the reason that Avery was what he was. The emotions overwhelmed the young siren, he couldn’t hold his own powers back anymore. Avery opened his mouth in anguish screaming. His voice was strong and violent. Both sirens felt the force of Avery’s voice echo through the air. The sound of his son’s scream was torturous to Val. He let go of Avery to cover his ears from the deafening pain. Avery continued to scream as he fell back to the ground. He closed his eyes praying to anyone listening that he would land in the river. He didn’t know how deep it was but hopefully deep enough for him to survive. 

Avery’s luck had not being going the way he hoped, he was not surprised that he landed on the ground just feet away from the edge of the river. Massive pain shot through his right leg on impact. He could see part of his leg that was broken, the skin had not been cut but the bone stuck into it at a painful angle. He definitely couldn’t make a run for it now. Regardless he needed to make an attempt to survive. He was convinced that if Val managed to kill him that the older siren would turn his attention to his friends and family. If Val kills him then he becomes stronger, the others might not stand a chance against him especially if the Arachnes are still a part of the equation. 

“The only reason you’re still alive is because of your siren half.” Val said landing on the ground. His large wings tucked in behind him part of them still dragging on the ground. The feathers were grey and speckled. “The half I gave you.” He smiled predatorily down at his son. “It’s sad that I have to kill you honestly, you truly are beautiful, even for siren standards.” 

“Fuck you.” Avery spat out using his arms to drag himself away. He didn’t move very fast considering wounds. Val laughed, he truly was entertained by how determined to survive his son was. 

“I must admit that I admire how unwavering you are, Avery.” Val revered. “You got that trait from me.” 

“The only thing I got from you is the color of my hair!” Avery said moving away from him slowly. Every centimeter he dragged himself felt like a mile, agony the entire time. “Which I changed.” His hand landed in water. He was at the edge of the river. 

“You can change it all you want but it will grow back.” Val said moving lazily closer to him. Avery wasn’t moving very fast so he didn’t need to hurry. “Not yours of course.” He kicked Avery into the water. “Since you’re going to die.” 

He lowered himself into the water and pulled Avery along with him into the deepest part of the water. The water was freezing. Avery’s entire body felt like it was being poked by pins and needles. His legs were immediately going numb. Val didn’t seem to notice the water temperature, that or he was too busy focusing on killing the younger male. The only reason Avery’s head was above water was because of the hold Val had on his shirt. He tried to pry himself out of Val’s grasp but the wounds down his arms still hindered his strength. “It is such a shame that you won’t ever get to know the extent of your powers.” He lifted Avery from the water holding him face to face. Avery tried to push himself away. The river was only waist deep but Val’s hold made it impossible for Avery to find his footing. “Tell your sisters and brother I said hello.” Val whispered into his son’s ear before plunging him under water. 

Avery felt the water over take him blurring his vision. He tried to hold his breath but the freezing temperature forced his breath out. He thrashed around trying to break his father hold on him. His limbs were going numb, his lungs were starting to burn. His body was going into emergency mode. He could feel every cell in his body screaming at him, begging for oxygen. The burning in his lungs was becoming unbearable he knew that he was going to take a breath eventually, underwater or not. “Stop fighting it!” Val said looking down at him. Avery stopped thrashing looking up at his father in shock. He had heard him clearly even underwater. “I heard that when you breath in and black out it actually painless.” Avery had heard that too. It was like the water wasn’t there. He continued to thrash again to free himself. He didn’t know how long he had been underwater but every second without air felt like an hour. His head was in agony, the lack of oxygen was overwhelming him. He was starting think that there others were not going to show up to save him. The last conversation he had had with his sister was an argument. That will be the last thing she remembered him by. Things with Brooks were not left the way he had wanted to leave them. Not to mention things with Harley didn’t really get started. At least now he didn’t have to worry about dealing with that whole mess. He couldn’t hold out any longer, the burning in his lungs was immense, his head felt like it was going to explode. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

After holding out for so long breathing in felt like a euphoric release. He never realized that death would be so soothing and calm. He took another breath. He could feel the water rushing into his body but there was no pain. He opened his eyes, Val still stood over him holding him underwater. That made no sense. Avery took a third breath as deeply as possible. He was breathing underwater. He could hear Val clearly and he could breathe underwater. What the hell was going on? Val seemed to notice that Avery was not in fact drowning. Even through the blur of the water Avery could see his eyes shining the bright siren silver. He could feel the hatred wafting towards him. His siren scream was the only thing that saved him before, he needed to do it again. With all of the emotions in the air he knew that he would not have trouble doing it. He needed to inflict pain. He took another deep breath focusing on all of the emotions around him. He reached up and held on to Val’s shoulders to keep him within a painful distance. He screamed at the top of his lungs. His sonic scream had always been a defense mechanism, it came out as a reflex. This was the first time that he had ever used it with the intention to inflict pain. He felt the water ripple as his scream made its way towards Val. The older siren pulled away in pain but Avery held on tightly. Val thrashed about trying to free himself. Avery noticed the fact that the two of them had basically traded places in this fight. Val spread his wings out batting at Avery with them. The wings were surprisingly strong considering that most bird wings were hollow. It was enough of a distraction for Val to free himself from Avery’s hold on him. The older siren used his giant wings to lift himself into the air and away from the other. Avery stood in the water confused once more. His wounds had healed. His leg was perfectly fine, his arms didn’t have the deep cuts that Val had gashed into them. “Figures you’d be a sea siren.” Val said circling the air like an oversized vulture. “I thought you’d be an air type like me.” He sounded genuinely disappointed in his son. Avery would have been offended but he sincerely hated his father. “But I guess there has to be one of you in every family.” He sighed. Avery had no idea that there was different types of sirens, there was at least two. Sea and Air. 

“So I’m guessing that I’m not going to be growing those ugly ass wings any time soon?” Avery asked looking up. He took a few preparatory steps to make sure that his wounds were in fact healing. Val laughed from up above him. “Or those disgusting little talons.” He continued. He was in the water, he was in his element. The water healed him. Not being able to drown was definitely a perk he was going to enjoy. He wasn’t going to leave the water, he was going to force Val to fight him in his element. Clearly Val could not breathe underwater since he had tried to drown Avery when he thought that he was an air siren too. He felt himself going light headed again. That usually happened whenever he used newly discovered powers for the first time. This was the first time that he had used his underwater powers. It wouldn’t be too much longer before he passed out. He was hoping that he could drown the older siren before that happened. Val dove down at him but didn’t come close enough for them to make contact. It was too bad that Avery didn’t have his throwing knives on him, he was sure he could have taken Val down already. Val dove again his wings whooshing loudly as he flew by the younger male. The water rippled from the force of the wind. Avery reached out with his hands only managing to pull a few feathers from the closest wing. He stumbled in the water, reaching up and looking up was turning his light-headedness in nausea. The feathers didn’t go unnoticed by Val. He glared down at Avery with bright silver eyes burning menacingly. 

“I’m done playing games with you! You damn child!” He turned his body completely facing Avery and preparing to attack again. He flapped his wings hard moving his entire body upwards. Avery braced himself, this was it. He’d have to pull Val down and hold him underwater. The light-headedness would win eventually. He lowered himself into the water, the lower Val had to dive the better his chances were of success. Val dove down again his wing spread fully. The suspense was killing Avery, he wanted to get this all over with. If he killed Val then Kit could go back to normal, and all of the arachnes would return to their home in the jungle. Everything could go back to normal. 

The loud boom broke him out of his train of thought. All he saw was Val spinning through the air on his way down. He landed with a painful thud on the grass several yards away from Avery. 

“Avery!” He heard his sister call out to him. They were coming to save him. He could see them, they were still in the distance but he could see them. Roz leading the way with a large golden hided wolf by her right side. A darker colored wolf followed closely by. The wolves were humongous compared to real wolves. He had never seen Brooks in his primal shift. He had seen him in his partial shift: claws, canine teeth, extra hair, and lupine structure. Primal shift was something only alphas could achieve, they took the shape of a hyena-wolf type beast stronger than their usual form. That meant that the second wolf had to be Ivy. Bea ran behind them with Kit in his manticore form at their side. They had all come to save him. 

Val stood dusting himself off his eyes still burning angrily this time focused on the oncoming Calvary. Roz shot at him again but the bullet landed a few feet away from the older siren. 

“She may not be my daughter but I will kill her nonetheless!” Val lifted himself into the air once more moving towards the others. 

“Talons!” Avery yelled feeling himself losing consciousness. “He has…talons.” The last thing he saw was Val diving down at his sister and Brooks. Then the water overtook him washing everything away.


	20. Blame Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the altercation with his father Avery is convinced that he will be attacked again. Will he be prepared for the next attack?

Chapter 19 Blame Games

He opens his eyes finding himself in his own bed. He is dry and in different clothes. His windows are closed with the shudders blocking the light. He felt much better, he supposed having a sea siren submerged under the river would do the trick. He turned to his side with his head still on his soft fluffy pillow. Mike and Brooks sat on his day bed in front of his large arched window. He had made sure that he got the best room in the house when the three of them moved in. He even had the two walk in closets one of them served as a mini library for their hunting books. He reached out for his cell phone, it lay on his bedside table next to the lamps Mike had gotten him as a birthday gift. It was still on the charger where he had left it. He swiped his fingers across the screen to see what time it was, the sun was still out so it could have been any time before 8 PM. It was 9 AM. That made no sense, how could it have been 9 AM? He had spoken to Harley that morning just after 9 AM. 

“It’s Thursday.” He said finally noticing the date on the phone screen. He had been out for an entire day. “Damn it.” He sighed lifting himself into a sitting position. He needed to make sure that everyone was okay. The last he had seen them they were at war with the arachnes. Harley included. Harley! He needed to make sure that she was safe, not a lot of normal people could deal with the shock of being thrown into the supernatural world without warning. The floor was cold against his bare feet but he grew accustomed to it quickly. He headed to the door ready to go downstairs. He could hear talking, he couldn’t make the words out but he heard them. Whatever was being said downstairs it was an argument. 

“Avery.” Brooks said grabbing his arms a bit too roughly. 

“Brooks. You’re hurting me.” Avery said pulling from his grasp. 

“Sorry.” The wolf responded. “Just wanted to make sure you were okay.” The siren nodded. He figured he owed the wolf the right to know since he had spent all night by his bed side. 

“I’m fine.” He smiled. “Thank you.” Brooks’s eyes looked over his face. His features were stern but his eyes were caring and concerned. Avery could feel the underlying anger beneath the worry. He must have seen the kiss between him and Harley. “What happened? Was I really out for a whole day?” Brooks nodded solemnly.

“We thought we lost you when you went under but you were fine.” The wolf whispered. “We don’t know how.” He seemed genuinely confused still looking over the siren, none of it made sense. 

“I overused my powers I guess.” He admitted. “I tried to fight him off but he’s strong.”

“We haven’t been attacked since we fought him.”

“What happened after I blacked out?” Avery asked.

“The six of us overpowered him. He ran.” Of course Avery had to blackout when the others arrived, he could have helped. He could have even been the one to kill Val. 

“He’ll be back.” Avery crossed his arms. “As long as I’m alive he will keep trying.” He heard the door slam followed by more arguing downstairs. “What the hell is going on down there?”  
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

“I stayed the night like you asked. You can’t keep me here!” Harley said firmly, her arms crossed. In the last 24 hours she had seen too many things that she didn’t think would ever happen. She had witnessed those spider demons, people shift into ugly things. Two people turning into giant werewolves and another turning into an ugly lion beast. The fought some, and alongside others. All she wanted was to go home and to report to the others at work. Whatever those things were, she knew that the police working together could get rid of them and protect the people of Clear Waters. Roz and Ivy stood side by side blocking the door. Any other day Avery would have loved to see any combination of this group of women come to a fist fight, any of them alone could do some real damage but today was not that day. Maybe in the future he could see his sister take on a cop. 

“You can’t tell them anything.” Avery said walking down the stairs. “Not without putting them in danger.” He looked at his sister letting her know that she could stand back. “They don’t know anything about these things, they won’t stand a chance.”  
“You and your friends did!” Harley said looking up at him. “They won’t even touch you, we can all work together.” He shook his head moving forward. Everything she was saying was common sense, but sadly common sense didn’t apply to the supernatural world. Avery was distracted by a pang of hurt drifting from the others nearby towards him. He looked to his right to find Ivy looking down at the ground. 

“Not all of us.” Ivy whispered desolately. Avery looked around to the others for a bit of enlightenment. He searched around the room for whoever was missing, their group had grown so big he wasn’t able to narrow it down. Wren stepped forward holding on to his arm.

“After we split up to find you…” She paused when her voice broke. “We lost Shiloh.” He felt a slight drop in his stomach, he hadn’t liked Shiloh much but he didn’t hate him either. The mention of death on their side made this whole ordeal much realer than before. Being hurt and slashed up himself was one thing but seeing others hurt was much more for him to have to bear. “Jerilyn…” She stopped. “Taima,” She corrected herself. “Isn’t doing very well either.” She pointed up the stairs, they had put Jerilyn in the quest room next to Brooks’s. 

“This is why I need to inform the other at the department!” Harley moved forward but Roz blocked her from the door shaking her head.

“The more that people know about this kind of stuff the more danger they are in.” Avery said he had one of his arms slightly around Wren who was trying to hold back tears over he fallen pack mate. “You are in danger yourself. If you leave they will follow you and wait to attack you when you’re alone.”

“What about my gear and weapons?” Harley asked. “Because if you expect me to stay here then I refuse to stay inside while you all fight those things.” Roz nodded from behind her. She had seen the small brunette in combat. She took on the arachnes without hesitation and won. 

“We have whatever you need here.” He walked to the linen closet at the bottom of the stairs and opened it up for her to see inside. “You’re welcome to equipped yourself.” She walked over looking him over suspiciously. The array of weapons hung all around the linen closet was alarming to her. She had been initially attracted to Avery because of how docile and sweet he looked, this was a side of him that she didn’t expect. She wasn’t sure if she found it intriguing or off-putting. She ran her fingers over a few of the blades to feel their sharpness.

“Harley.” Avery whispered to her watching the expression on her face. “We can’t let you leave until we take care of these things.”

“I just want to help.” She admitted. “That’s why I became an officer.” Avery understood that. As much as he wanted to be able to rip himself from the supernatural world and pretend it wasn’t real, he couldn’t because he felt a responsibility to protect those who were lucky enough to be ignorant to the harsh reality. Harley felt the same responsibility. 

“If you want to keep people safe from these things, then you have to trust me.” Harley sighed looking up at him. The two locked eyes as if they were communicating through their thoughts. She was trying to read his face. 

“Fine.” She said crossing her arms still agitated. “But somebody has to explain all of this crap in detail to me.” Avery nodded in agreement turning to lead her into the kitchen.

“I’ll talk to her.” Roz said walking toward the kitchen Harley following close to her. Avery watched the two of them disappear into the other room. He closed the linen closet and turned to the others. He was left with all of the wolves. He could feel a mix of emotions all around the room. The strongest was resentment. It wasn’t a surprise that some of them felt resentment towards him but it still didn’t feel good. They had lost a pack member while protecting him and other hunters. 

“Ivy, I’m so sorry.” He said stepping towards her with his arms open. He really was sorry, werewolf packs were like families, even when members weren’t biologically related. It was part of the reason why Brooks was so attached to both him and Mike, the two of them were his pack. Ivy let him hug her but he felt he muscles remain rigid. The resentment from the alpha hit him like slap in the face. Even though she embraced him as well her hands only hovered over his waist. 

“I’m gonna go check on Jerilyn…Taima, whatever.” She didn’t wait for a response and quickly made her way upstairs. The group watched he moving away from them.

“It’s not your fault.” Wren said touching his arm. Avery nodded turning to hug her. He couldn’t help it her sadness was overwhelming him. She hugged him tightly. “Please don’t take her attitude personally we all chose to be here.” Avery wanted to nod in agreement but he knew it wasn’t entirely true. The pack was there because their alpha told them to be. He and Ivy had made a pact to help each other, they were there because of him. He pushed the thought aside and focused on Wren’s state of mind. She was blaming herself too. 

“It’s not your fault either.” He whispered into her hair. She started sobbing lightly. It was clear she didn’t want the others to see her. She was the beta of the pack second in charge, she had to be strong.

“After the others left to find you, I was left in charge of the others here.” She continued sobbing. “He broke off from the group.” She laid her face against his chest as she cried. “I ordered him to come back but he ignored me.” It wasn’t Wren’s fault that she was not as assertive as her sister in Avery’s eyes. Wren was not an alpha she shouldn’t have to deal with the burden of pack dynamics. The young wolf pulled away slightly to wipe her eyes clear of tears. “Sorry,” She sniffled. “It’s just that with everything that’s happening I haven’t had a chance to talk about it to anyone. Not to mention Ivy is mad at me because of all of this.”

“Yeah, Roz isn’t too thrilled with me.” Avery chuckled slightly. “How’s Stormy holding up?” He couldn’t imagine what she was going through since she and Shiloh were so close.

“She’s in the bedroom in the basement, wanted to be left alone.” Wren finally stepped away taking a deep breath to regain her composure. Avery nodded making a mental note to go downstairs and talk to her. 

“You’re up!” He heard a voice call from the stairs. Robin came down the steps quickly towards him with a wide grin on his face. “I was getting worried that we would have to finish this thing without you.” He wrapped his muscled arms tightly around the siren…a little too tightly. 

“Robin.” Avery laughed. “You know I wouldn’t do that to you.” He moved his arm as best as he could to pat the large wolf’s sides. Robin let go of him but the smile was still on his face. 

“I’m glad that your okay.” Robin admitted. “We were scared for a while.” The wolf still had a light grip on his arm. It was comforting in an odd way.

“Turns out that Val needs me alive so that he can kill me in a ritual sacrifice.” Avery spoke in a stoic voice. The words he was saying should have been alarming to him but in all honesty the constant threat of death was becoming a bit jaded unless he was in immediate danger. 

“Val?” Mike asked walking inside with Maja close behind her. The two sat on the back of the couch looking at Mike’s computer. They had spent the night unlocking a few more of the files. Maja was working on getting a connection to the internet.

“The other siren.” Avery answered. “The Latino man from table seven you said looked nothing like me.” He turned reminding Brooks. “You were wrong.” He half chuckled. 

“So he’s your brother?” Wren asked. She didn’t know much about sirens but she knew that siblings were pretty much guaranteed.

The siren shook his head. “My father.” The groups stood silent, that didn’t make sense. Sirens were always siblings. “He killed my sisters.” Avery added. “To keep his powers.”

“Only three sirens get power at a time.” Maja said reading from the computer. “So when three new sirens are born they get to share the power.” Everyone looked at Avery for comfirmation. He shrugged, it all made sense but he didn’t know. Maja continued reading. “If no new sirens are alive to take the power then he gets to keep it.”

“And since he killed his own siblings he keeps the power to himself.” Avery added. 

“Wait go back to the sacrifice part.” Robin said sternly. “Why are you not worried about this?”

“I am.” Avery admitted. “But I don’t know how the ritual will happen or how to stop it. I mean if he needs a ritual to kill me, then I need a ritual to kill him.”

“Unless one of us kill him.” Kit said from the other side of the room. “He sent the arachnes and me to kill you, why can’t you do the same?” Avery nods agreeing.

“Oh yeah.” The siren turned to Robin. “I can breathe underwater.” He hit Robin’s bicep playfully. “And being submerged underwater heals my wounds.” Robin smiled, he had been right about the siren powers all along.   
Brooks put his hand on Avery’s shoulders and turned him around. He ran his hand down Avery’s back feeling the bones under his shirt.

“So when do you grow wings?” The blonde wolf asked his hand still caressing Avery’s back. His hand was warm on Avery’s body. Avery looked back at Brooks, every time the two of them made physical contact it made the siren confused as to where they stood. 

“I don’t.” He answered pulling away slowly. “Because I’m a sea siren, he is an air siren.” He turned his attention back to the others. “So he gets wings and claws while I get healing and underwater breathing.”

“So there IS different types of sirens?” Maja asked looking closer into the computer. Avery nodded. The others moved closer to the computer to look at it. “It says different types of sirens are killed in different ways.” She used the finger pad to scroll down. “At the hands of another siren, at their own hands, madness from their own songs, heart ripped out and burned in viburnum, sacrifice.” The room went silent at the last word. 

Avery spoke to push through the awkward silence. “Sirens share their source of power, if one is sacrificed then the others can consume their share of the source.” Maja nods her head still looking at her computer screen. 

“Different types need different things to be sacrificed.” The Hindi hunter continued informing the others. “The files don’t say what is needed exactly though.” Mike looks at Avery with more concern. She really didn’t like the idea of her best friend being killed in a ritual sacrifice. 

“So if there is only two of you does that mean you two share the power of the third siren?” Mike asked trying to push away the thoughts of Avery being killed.

“Yeah.” He nodded. He leaned on the wall next to him. “We are both stronger than the average siren.” Wren thinks for a second. 

“You’re just as strong as he is then.” The young beta stated thinking things over. Avery nods.

“So if he can kill me, then that means that I can kill him.” He didn’t like the idea of having to kill someone but he had no choice. “I may not have control of my powers but I know I can do it…with your help.” He looked over the others in the room. Mike nodded determined to help him regardless of the outcome. “Our powers aren’t exactly the same, he doesn’t have a sonic scream like I do.” 

Mike thinks to herself. “If we can keep things near water then you can have an advantage.” The siren agreed. With Kit and the werewolves on his side Avery was sure that he stood a chance at killing Val. He had so many people fighting for him, he needed to make sure they were all okay. 

“Thank you guys, so much.” He stepped forward pulling Mike into a tight hug. The two of them had hugged many time but this hug was different. It was more than a hug; it was a promise to be by each other’s side to protect them. They were more than friends, they were siblings. Being so close to Mike was soothing and mind clearing. His senses were cleared and made stronger. He listened to the sounds around him and realized that he didn’t hear either Roz or Harley in the other room. “But first I can’t take care of our own.” He let go of the embrace from Mike and looked down the hall into the kitchen, he didn’t see anyone there. “I’m gonna go check on Harley, then on Taima.” He started walking but Brooks pulled lightly on his hand as he tries to walk away. There was that physical contact confusing him again.

“I need to talk to you,” The wolf whispered. It made no sense for him to whisper since over half the house was filled with werewolves who could still hear him. Avery tries to pull away, he really felt the need to check on Harley. He had a bad feeling about something and he didn’t know why. “Please.” Brooks begged. Brooks was not the one to beg. Avery looked over the wolf’s face seeing the desperation in his features. He sighed pulling his hand away and nods deciding to go with him. 

“Ugh,” Maja moaned closing the laptop. “I need to charge it. I’ll be upstairs if anyone needs me.” Bea stood up following after her. 

“Can you show me the files you were looking at? I want to keep reading.” She asked. Maja nodded leading the way up the stairs to Mike’s room. 

“Outside?” Brooks asked pointing to the door. 

“Okay.” Avery sighed opening the door for Brooks to exit. The weather was nice and warm outside. Brooks sat down on the steps of the porch tapping the area next to him for Avery to sit with him. Avery wasn’t so sure how badly this conversation was going to go but he sat down and waited for Brooks to speak.

“I didn’t want things to happen the way they happened.” Brooks said looking out in to the trees. The breeze made the treetops sway lazily back and forth. “I didn’t want to hurt you.” He whispered. Avery had expected to hear something similar to that. He was still unsure how he felt about their entire situation. “But there is something in my head telling me that that’s what I have to do.” Avery looks at him confused. 

“What?” That last part made no sense. “What the hell does that mean?” Avery asked.

Brooks looks down at him. “It’s like I have no control over myself.” The wolf continued looking down at his hands. He flexed his fingers examining them. 

Anger starts to take over, how could Brooks want to talk about this at this time? There was so much going on, they didn’t have time. “Is this really what you want to talk about right now?” The siren asked the annoyance in his voice was clear. “Shiloh is dead, Jerylin is too…basically, and Val is out there planning on how to sacrifice me!” He started raising his voice. “And this is what you want to talk about? Us? If he kills me there is no us!” Brooks looked at him in shock, he was not used to this new Avery. Avery wasn’t one to yell and snap at others. “And if he kills me there is no you! I’m sure he will go after you and the others with his more power than he has now.” Avery stood angrily looking down at the wolf. “We are here talking about this and he is out there figuring out a way to kill me.”

“Oh I know exactly how I’m going to do it son.” Val’s smooth voice spoke from the inside of the house. How had he gotten so close to them without being noticed? How had he gotten past all of the wolves’ senses? Brooks stood up quickly pulling Avery closer to him at the sight of the older siren. 

“Guys!” Avery called out to the others in the house. Nobody answered. Avery knew that Val was going to try to kill him then and there. He couldn’t know for sure considering he didn’t know how the ritual would happen. There was still no answer from inside the house. “Guys!” He shouted louder taking a step towards the door. Brooks doesn’t move still holding Avery’s arm. Avery pulled his hand away from him he needed to make sure the others were okay. He opened the door slowly and turned his body sideways to see what was inside and kept an eye on Val. There was nobody in the living room. “Guys!?” From the door he could see part of the kitchen, Roz and Harley weren’t inside. “Brooks where is everyone?” He asked the wolf, he knew with his heightened senses the wolf should have been able to tell where the others were. Without the others next to him Avery felt panic creep over him. There was no water around so he couldn’t heal or try to drown Val. He still had his sonic scream on his side and Brooks. “Guys?” Avery called pulling the wolf inside with him. He closed the door behind them and stepped closer to the kitchen. “Roz?” He looked around but he and Brooks seemed to be the only two in the house. “Where the hell could they have gone?” He whispered to the wolf. Brook pulled him closer pulling his hand behind him at a painful angle. The wolf wrapped his other hand tightly over the siren’s chest. “What are you doing?” Avery tried to pull away but Brooks’s hold was too strong on him. He couldn’t move. “Brooks.” He continued struggling. 

The door busted open falling off of its hinges. The fallen door left a bright light in silhouetting Val on the other side. Avery continued to fight against Brooks’s hold but his arms were in immense pain. 

“I told you I didn’t want to hurt you.” The wolf whispered to the young siren. His voice was raspy and forced like he was fighting with himself. Val’s steps into the room laughing at his son struggle from the werewolf’s strength. 

“Brooks, please.” Avery said trying to move away from Val. He turns looking back at the wolf expecting to see the bright glowing eyes but Brooks’s face falters for a second. His grips loosens on Avery. Avery moves his hands down slowly. Val eyes him cocking his head to the side like a parent catching their child doing something they shouldn’t be doing. Val stepped closer caressing Brooks’s face. The wolf eased into the touch of the older siren like he had been yearning it for years. 

“I didn’t tell you to let him go.” Val chided. Avery moaned in pain when Brooks reaffirmed his grip on him. 

“You’re controlling him.” Avery said angrily. 

“And you thought I ran away.” Val mocked pacing across the room. He walked swinging his limbs lazily, he had no worries about his safety. “When they attacked me,” He walked over to the fireplace looking over the pictures on the mantle. “I invaded their senses to control them from afar.” He picked up a picture of Avery, Mike and Brooks on their couch. His fingers ran over the designs on the frame. Avery couldn’t believe he had overlooked the fact that Val controlled others using their senses. How could he have been so stupid and let his guard down? Val opened the back of the frame taking the picture out and folding it. “It has been so long since I’ve done a sacrifice.” He scoffed putting the picture in his pocket. He turned around as if looking for something else. Avery looked around the room for a possible escape route. He knew how he could get out of Brooks’s hold. He didn’t want to hurt the wolf but he was going to have to do it. “See, I need a few of your own personal things to do it.” Val said drumming his fingers over the back of one of the couches. Avery just needed for him to turn away for a second so he could make a run for it. He squared his shoulders and spread his legs wipe enough for him to throw the wolf off of him. Val turned his attention to the curtains looking closely at the embroidery on the edges. That was the moment Avery needed.  
The younger siren lifted his foot slamming it as hard as he could on top of the wolf. He threw his upper body forward ignoring the pain from his arm still being held behind his back. He threw his upper body back again smashing the back of his head into Brooks’s nose. He was thankful that he didn’t hear any cracking since he didn’t want to hurt the wolf. It wouldn’t take much pressure to get the affect he wanted on the wolf. Brooks screamed in pain letting go of him. Avery took off running into the kitchen. Roz had to be there, she would know what to do. Roz always knew what to do. The kitchen was empty, neither Roz or Harley were there. Avery searched the area around but there were no weapons. There was still a frying pan on the stove. He took it and hid inside the pantry. He knew they would find him there but he just needed the distraction for a second. The pantry was dark aside from the small sliver of light coming in from beneath the door. He could hear Val’s heavy footsteps approaching before he saw the older siren enter the room. Val zeroed in on the pantry immediately and smiled smugly to himself. He moved like he wasn’t in a hurry, like he knew he had everything in the bag. Avery sat still waiting for the door to open so he could attack. He had managed to take out Taima with a frying pan he was sure he could replicate the event with Val. Val ran his fingers over the counter top of the island, it looked like he honestly admired the decoration in the room. 

“Running isn’t going to solve anything.” Val stated looking closer at the details on the wallpaper. “Only delay the inevitable.” He sighed. “Just give up.” He turned his attention to the pantry again. “Although I do enjoy the thrill of the hunt. I don’t get a lot of that with the siren powers and all.” He stood in front of the pantry door as if expecting Avery to just give in. His body was lax and almost uninterested. Avery held on tightly to the frying pan. He pushed his back up against the wall so that Val would be forced to step into the pantry to attack him. He tried to keep his arms as relaxed as possible to be able to swing better. The door finally opened revealing Val on the other side. The older siren didn’t have time to scan the room before the pan hit on the side of the head. Avery was disappointed when he didn’t hear Val’s skull crack. But he figured that would have been too easy and anticlimactic for someone as evil as his father. Avery leapt over Val sprinting out of the kitchen. 

He needed to find everyone else. He didn’t know if he could take on Val and Brooks under his control. 

Brooks jumped out at him the second Avery entered the living room. Avery didn’t hesitate that time and swung the frying pan as hard as he could. He felt bad but Brooks was a werewolf he would be fine. The pan made contact with the wolfs face. Brooks stumbled back covering his face. His nose had just finished healing from the head butt now he was going to have to wait for it again. Avery turned sharply and up the stairs. Somebody had to be in the house that could help him. He heard Val groan from the kitchen, he didn’t have too much time. He ran down the hall looking into every room he could the house was empty, he was alone. He finally reached The guest room, Taima was still in bed healing.

“Crap.” Avery said looking her over. He couldn’t leave her there. But he also couldn’t take her with. If he tried, he would definitely get both of them killed. “Diversion.” He mumbled to himself he had to keep them away from her. He locked the door from the inside and stepped out closed it behind him locking himself out of the room. If he kept Val and Brooks’s attention away from her and on him she would be safe. He could hear Brooks stumbling his way up the stairs. He ran into his room slamming the door closed so they knew where he was hopefully leaving Taima alone. Brooks ran directly at his door. The simple wooden door wouldn’t hold up for long against the brute strength of an alpha wolf. Avery ran across his room towards the giant window arch. The whole outside of the house was porched. He could use the roofing on the porch to escape. The window didn’t open completely but enough for him to squeeze himself out of it. He turned the opening device quickly to open the window to the widest angle. He lifted himself unto the wide window sill and angles his body so that he could climb out. His hair caught on the latch pulling him back. “Shit!” He lowered his head to get his hair out of the latch. 

The door exploded scaring him. He lost his footing falling unto the porch roof. He roofing was hot on his bare hands. He moved away from his window not sure where to go. There was really no way down on his side of the house. He either jumped or he would have to run all the way around and climb down the vine covered panels. He doubted he could make it all the way around the house. If he did, Val and Brooks would be quick to catch him. He scooted his way closer to the edge of the roof. He contemplated jumping down, his siren powers might help heal him quick enough for him to keep fighting. 

Brooks roared from within the house. Avery had never heard him sound so dark and vicious. It was terrifying to be on the wolf’s bad side. Avery had reached the edge of the roof trying to gather the strength to jump when his window boomed, exploding everywhere. The explosion made him jump in fear. He fell down hard. He felt the jabbing pain in his back when he landed on the flower bed. It didn’t have any flowers yet because Mike had lied to herself when she decided to make it. She convinced herself she could commit to taking care of flowers but she didn’t have the time with the restaurant. All she had managed to do was place the border or jagged rocks. Those jagged rocks were all Avery felt. The fall might have killed any mortal person but Avery’s siren kept him alive, kept him feeling the pain. 

“Mike. I’m gonna kill you.” Avery groaned turning himself over slowly. His back was killing him, the pain throbbed through his body like electricity. It took him several tries but he managed to get on unto his feet. He ran along the house holding on to the porch for support. There was nobody outside, not even the arachnes. Where the hell was everybody? There wasn’t much for him to do aside from getting in his car and taking off. He always kept a spare key in a magnetic box beneath the suspension. All he had to do was reach his car and he could get away. If he reached the restaurant he could lock himself using the viburnum, he’d be safe. He needed to find refuge for long enough to make a plan. He could reach his sister perhaps.

Brooks jumped from his window landing a couple of yards behind him. The blonde wolf started running towards him immediately, agile and graceful beyond belief. Avery could feel his heart pounding, pushing himself to run with the small bit of energy he had. Stress was running high, there was only one way that the situation could end. He turned himself around to face the wolf charging at him. He hated to use his powers on Brooks but maybe it would help the wolf break out of Val’s grasp. Avery’s grip on the porch tightened as he took a deep breath. He could feel his powers gathering inside him. It was getting easier and easier for him to use them. 

“Stop!”

His voice echoed shattering all of the windows on the side of the house. He saw the waves of his powers rippled through the air and rushing towards Brooks. It was a comedic sight to see Brooks be hit by his powers. It looked like a mime hitting an invisible wall. The wolf was sent back flying and landing like rag doll on the floor. Naturally Avery wanted to check on the wolf but he held himself back and turned back towards his car instead. He counted to three and took off running down the driveway. His car was close, just a few yards away. 

Sharp pain hit his injured back. He felt his body twist abruptly before he felt himself smash through his car’s windshield. The glass cracked beneath his body’s but didn’t shatter. He groaned in pain as his body slid down the hot glass. Roz and Ivy stood in front of his car watching him struggle to move. He couldn’t move, he was in too much pain. 

“Roz.” He reached out to his sister but she looked at him disinterestedly. “Roz help.” He whispered. It even hurt to talk.  
Val laughed coldly walking into his sight. His limbs still moved lazily like he had expected the entire situation happen exactly as they had. 

“I am impressed at how much fight you have in you, Avery.” Val said running his hand over Roz’s chin. His powers were visibly taking over her and Ivy. “Take him.” He ordered. Robin and Bea walked out from behind Val and towards Avery. Avery’s body ignited into agony when Robin took a hold him roughly. He could have sworn he felt his bones snapping as the dark skinned wolf lifted him. “Let’s go children.” Val said nodding cocking his head to the side. “We have a ritual to perform.” Avery let his head fall back, there was no getting out of the situation, not without moving. He saw his friends following Val like a pack of zombies. Roz, Bea, Ivy, Brooks, Robin and Kit were under Val’s control. The thought alone was terrifying, but Avery couldn’t help but think to himself. Where the hell was everyone else?


	21. Sonic Screams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Val has control of part of the pack, he has Avery wounded. Will the group be able to save each other?

Chapter 20 Sonic Screams

She had fallen asleep. It was all she could do. He was gone. He was gone and not coming back. She had cried herself to sleep. Mourning was physically draining, even for werewolves. Stormy had asked to be left alone with his body. She kneeled next to him the entire night and day. She couldn’t separate herself from him. He had been her best friend; the first man she had ever loved. Shiloh was dead. She laid down next to him curled up against his side. He was cold. She looked at him and she could have sworn she saw his chest moving like he was breathing. She knew it was all in her head. The color in his face had drained, he was pale and stiff. 

She had no idea how long she had been in the basement with him. She was in Avery’s safe room. She didn’t know how he had managed to do it but he had made the room virtually sound proof, he used it whenever his siren side was feeling on edge. She used the safe room to separate herself from the tension and drama of what was going on. She knew that even though Ivy and the others in her pack were mourning for Shiloh they were not going to show it when there was still a fight to get ready for, Stormy couldn’t do that. She had to mourn, she had to mourn now. Her watch said it was after five in the afternoon, she had to join the others upstairs to prepare for sunset. The arachnes would be coming back and she planned on killing them all. Those things had taken Shiloh away from her and he pack, she planned on taking them all out. Stormy was not the fighting type of wolf, she considered herself more of a caretaker but everyone was pushed to their limits from time to time. She felt herself being pushed to her limits. 

She didn’t want to leave Shiloh. But she had to. 

She covered his face with the blanket that Mike had given her. It was covered in blood from his wounds. She took a few seconds to breathe before she stood up to exit the room. Her emotions started to come to the surface just at the thought of closing the door behind her but she knew staying with him wouldn’t serve any purpose. The door clicked closed behind her separating the two of them. It felt like she was abandoning him when he needed her. The others needed her too, the others who could end up in the same position as Shiloh. 

The house was quiet. Too quiet.

Even from the basement she should have been able to hear people walking around on the second floor. She didn’t like the house being so silent. The negative feeling grew worse inside her the closer she got to the basement door. She let her claws extend preparing for anything that might happen. In her experience dead silence didn’t lead to anything good, at least not for her. First floor was empty. The living room, the kitchen, the parlor, even the closets were all empty. Her internal alarm started going off when she saw the mess in the living room. The couch was moved out of place and there was a frying pan at the bottom of the stairs. 

There was a loud crash upstairs.

Stormy stood her ground waiting for something to come charging at her but all she heard was even more crashing. 

“Guys?” Taima called from Mike’s room. She knocked lightly on the door. “Guys!” Stormy sighed in relief and started moving up the stairs. Avery’s door was shattered into pieces on the ground. “Guys!”

“I’m coming, hold on.” Stormy said looking into Avery’s room. The window at the far end was gone, someone had shattered it. She could see the pieces of glass littered on the porch roof outside, and some farther out in the grass. Taima continued to knock on the door. “Where is everyone?” She asked turning to leave the room. She didn't like the look of things. Everyone was missing and clearly there had been a fight in the house. How had she not heard it? Mike’s door was the only one upstairs that was closed. Stormy tried turning the knob but it was locked. “Taima it’s locked!” Stormy yelled to her on the other side. “Move away from the door.” She waited a couple of seconds before she made her move. Stormy took a step back. She was short so the step wasn’t too big. The tiny werewolf lifted her leg up and thrusted it as hard to hit the area next to the door knob. Ivy had told her that is she hit that place it was more likely to break the lock so that the door would open easily rather than breaking the door in half itself. The lock was no match to her werewolf strength despite her size, the door swung open harshly slamming against the wall. Taima sat on the ground on the other side leaning against Mike’s bed. 

“I can feel something big and dark happening.” Taima huffed out. She held on to her side clearly still in pain. “Where is everybody?” She reached out to Stormy so she could help her up. Stormy crouched down and wrapped her arms around Taima’s waist to lift her up. Taima clung to her trying to ignore the pain running through her body. The shorter woman let the other down slowly so she could rest on top of the bed. 

“I think it is just me and you now.” Stormy sighed sitting next to the other redhead. Taima shook he head. 

“There is something out there using a lot of power, I can sense it.” She looked around the room as if she could see what was outside the walls of the house. “I bet anything that wherever that large amount of power if coming from is where the others are.”

“Can you distinguish what kind of power it is?” Stormy asked.

“It feels like when Avery used his powers earlier but on a grander scale.” She took a deep breath and pushed herself to her feet. She stumbled around for a couple of steps before Stormy helped her to keep her balance. “We need to find it.”

“You’re in no shape to go anywhere near a fight.”

“You can’t go alone.” Taima said holding on tightly. “I can guide you to it, I can use its power to heals myself.”

“You can do that?”

“Piasa.” Tiama reminded. “I can sense power and I can tap into it.” She nodded forward and Stormy lead her down the hall slowly. “Whatever is happening out there, it has more than enough power to heal me.” Stormy had to reposition herself to help the injured piasa down the steps. She was thankful that she had her werewolf strength otherwise the two of them would be tumbling down unto the first floor. It took a minute but they finally reached the front door. “We have to get there quick.” Taima stated. “We might not have enough time.” Stormy nodded leading her down the front porch. Taima closed her eyes turning her head trying to pin down the direction in which to go. “Northeast towards the river.” The two women moved slowly but were determined to stop whatever was happening. Stormy kept a look out. It was starting to get dark out and Taima couldn’t see in the dark, the two of them were depending on the werewolf’s abilities to survive. The two of them prayed to whoever was listening that the arachnes didn’t show up, or they would surely die. 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Mike moaned lightly finally coming to. She tried to open her eyes but it seemed impossible to her. She could hear shuffling somewhere in the distance but she didn’t recognize the sound. Her head was throbbing painfully, she felt a sore spot on the back of it just above the nape of her neck. What had happened?

The last thing she remembered was speaking to Avery and the others in the living room. When Avery stepped out of the room she felt a sharp pain on the back of her head and everything went black. 

“Ave…” He struggled to speak. She wanted to rub her head to relieve the pain but her arms weren’t moving. Her entire body was tied down. “What?” She mumbled. Her eyes opened slowly adjusting to the bright fire somewhere in front of her. She looked down at herself, rope held her tightly up against a large tree. The rope had no give for her to move in any direction. Shadows moved to and fro in front of the fire. She forced her eyes completely open dealing with the pain of her pupil dilation. The others were tied up to trees as well. Maja is next to her, Rei, Wren, and Harley just beyond her. Robin and Ivy walk past her towards a large wooden platform on the ground, where Brooks and Kit stood waiting. The three werewolves and manticore lifted it like it weighed nothing to them and started moving it towards the river. The water flowed lazily. They lowered the platform so that it lay directly over the water. On the other side of the river stood a clan of arachnes watching curiously. They didn’t like the fire, they looked at it like it was the most disgusting thing they had ever seen. The cluster of arachnes began to split into two to let Roz and Beatriz through. The two of them carried bundles of white flowers in their arms. Their faces were emotionless and cold and they moved in tandem. Both women walked over the platform their eyes focused on a lump laying on the ground a couple of yards from the large fire. The lump lay inside a circle of viburnum. Viburnum was used so that supernatural things couldn’t escape. It was Avery. 

They were being controlled. The other siren had a hold on them. The other siren. That was when Mike noticed the tall figure standing on the other side of the large fire. It was the handsome man from table seven, that must have been Val, Avery’s father. He was controlling the others, he was the one who had them all tied up, he was the one who was going to kill Avery. 

Maja made small moaning sound from the tree where she was tied. She was coming to. Mike continued to wiggle around as best as she could. Her best friend was about to be killed in front of her, she was going to fight until she couldn’t anymore, it was what Avery would have done for her.

Roz and Beatriz entered the small circle of viburnum and knelt down next to Avery. The two of them dropped the flowers unto the ground in small bundles and began to braid them into Avery’s hair. They were prepping him for the sacrifice. Mike started to panic, she was going to run out of time.  
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It had been almost a mile since Taima started to walk on her own. The closer she and Stormy came to the grand powers the stronger she began to feel. She still held on to the werewolf’s hand for guidance. The piasa had many powers but seeing in pitch darkness was not one of them. Stormy led the way making sure to point out any rocks or roots that they could not walk around. She was starting to feel the pull of her pack as they moved. It was connection that werewolves’ had with each other. It was easier for her just to howl into the wind and let them answer her or come to her. That was too dangerous for the time being, there was too many things in the woods willing to kill her, or them. ‘

“Wait.” Taima said squeezing her hand. The two stood completely still in the darkness. “Something is near us.” Taima whispered lowering herself into the shrubbery. She pulled the werewolf down with her. Taima couldn’t see anything but she sensed it. Stormy looked around not finding anything in the nearby area. 

“What is it?” She whispered to the piasa. Taima was concentrating on pinpointing the source of power she felt. She hushed the werewolf turning her head as if following it with some sort of second sight. “It’s heading away from the power.” Taima whispered confused. 

“It’s scared.” Stormy said spotting a figure cowering and running in the opposite direction than the one the two of them were going. 

“They can feel the darkness in the air.” Taima said standing up again. “Let’s keep going.” She urged to her guide. Stormy nodded and continued to move forward. “Quicker.” Taima snapped. 

“You’ll fall!” Stormy defended, she picked up her pace regardless. 

“I’m feeding off of this thing’s powers, I’ll be fine.” The piasa responded. The two women moved quickly through the woods ducking and twisting around anything in their way. The energy in the air made Taima feel like she was running through spider webs leaving their residue all over her skin. She felt like she was moving in slow-motion, the power she was feeding off of making her feel like she could do more than she was doing. She wanted to explode out of her own skin. 

“I see a fire.” Stormy said slowing down to a walk again. “It’s still at a distance but I see it.” The two of them started paying more attention to where they stepped. They weren’t exactly sure who or what they were up against they couldn’t risk being heard from the distance. The others were in trouble and as far as they knew they were the only two left to fight.  
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“I can’t break the ropes.” Wren said moving around as best as she could. She had been so sure she could. Rope never slowed a werewolf down. 

“That’s because its imbued with strands of viburnum.” Val laughed watching her and the others trying to pry themselves out of the ropes. He turned his attention to Roz and Bea who had finally finished braiding Avery’s hair. “Give me the music box.” He ordered. Mike gasped, he knew about Avery’s music box. Roz and Bea nodded searching quickly through Avery’s clothing. They turned him over roughly reaching in to his pockets. Roz reached her hand back giving the music box over to the older siren. He looked it over, inspecting it. “Hmm, I remember when I used to use something like this. A harmonica.” He said to Roz. She looked over at him with a dead expression on her face. Val rolled his eyes at her and snapped his fingers pointing at Avery. “Put him on the platform.” Roz and Bea crouched to lift Avery. Robin waited outside the circle to help them carry the much larger Avery to his destination. “And place a circle of viburnum around him to keep him inside.”

Mike pulled as hard as she could to free herself. It was becoming clear that the only way she would escape was by breaking her hand, she wouldn’t be much use afterwards if she did that. 

“Roz, don’t do this! Fight him!” Avery had told her that he broke Kit out of Val’s hold by talking to him, maybe she could do it too. “Roslyn, you can fight him off.” Roz looked over at her in confusion. 

“Do as I say.” Val said calmly. His voice forced Roz to focus on what she was doing again. She and Bea took piece of viburnum making a circle around Avery. 

“Avery, wake up!” Harley shouted. For being so little she had a loud voice. “Wake up!” The others started shouting calling to the others. 

“Do you realize how much power it takes to sacrifice a siren?” Val asked turning to Ivy. He moved towards the platform standing on it with the alpha close behind. Roz and Bea stepped off of the platform and sat on the grass next to Robin and Kit. The four of them watched as Ivy and Val walked around the viburnum circle holding Avery hostage. Avery rolled over unto his back groaning, pain shooting up his back he was still hurt from landing on the edge of the flower bed. 

“Avery wake up!” Mike begged from the tree. The top rope holding her started to dishevel. She looked behind her the best she could but the tree was too big for her to see anything. 

“Shh.” She saw Stormy peek out of the shadows. “Pretend that your still tied up.” The other continued shouting to get Avery’s attention. Mike kept watch making sure that Val didn’t notice that help had finally arrived. If he caught them it would be two against five, they wouldn’t stand a chance. Avery wouldn’t stand a chance of escaping. Avery continued to roll on the ground trying to figure out what was going on. 

“I thought you were going to miss all the fun.” Val mocked setting the music box down on the ground directly in front of Avery but outside the circle. Avery rolled unto his stomach trying to push himself up. He spotted the music box and panic washed over him immediately. He had been separated from his source of power. It was happening, the sacrifice was happening. “Hearing,” Val said placing a hand over the music box. “The siren’s call.” Avery could feel a slight humming inside the circle of viburnum. The ritual was starting to pull energy inside the circle. He pushed himself into a sitting position ignoring the blinding pain, he had to find a way out. Val took a few steps around the circle, Ivy followed him with the small satchel in her hands. He reached inside it and pulled out the photograph that he stole from a top the fireplace. He set it down. “Sight, the siren’s allure.” Avery looked at the picture of him, Mike, and Brooks, he never imagined it would be used to kill him. Val reached in the satchel again pulling out a bottle of cologne that Brooks had given to Avery as a present. “Scent, the siren’s aroma.” He placed his palm over the cologne looking at Avery as if daring him to break the spell from within his supernatural prison. He smiled arrogantly down at his son before moving unto the next item in the satchel. It was a piece of his sweater, the one that Brooks loved so much. Avery wanted to kill Val just for destroying his favorite sweater. “Touch, the siren’s grasp.” The humming of power was growing louder and deafening to Avery. He was having a harder time breathing. He reached out touching the edge of the viburnum. Light shimmered out from where he was touching it, he couldn’t push past it, he couldn’t escape. “Taste,” Val continued laughing, he was amused at Avery’s pitiful attempt to escape. “The siren’s kiss.” He placed a carry out container from the restaurant. He would have preferred to use something better like lipstick but Avery didn’t use that, he used what he could, it was the thought that mattered ultimately. And his thought was to kill his son. The power humming inside the circle grew even louder, the circle of viburnum itself starting to glow lightly. “Water is your element, your power, your life.” Val looked over the water lazily flowing below them. “Water is your death.” Avery laughed as best as he could, failing to hide the pain he felt. 

“That’s a shitty spell,” He spat out. “Did you come with it in some second rate creative writing class?” He mocked the older siren. Val ignored Avery’s taunt and continued with his makeshift spell. He walked over to the edge of the platform again standing at the beginning where he placed the music box. Ivy handed him the last item inside the satchel, one of Avery’s throwing knives. “You’re power is mine, and mine alone.” He demanded aiming the knife into the air. He looked down at his son triumphantly, he had won, he was going to have complete power once more. 

Mike moved forward slowly making sure that the others being controlled didn’t see them. She pulled out one of her throwing knives and helped cut Harley free of her ropes. The group moved forward slowly towards the others. They were going to have to fight to save Avery, the element of surprise was all they had. 

“This is all your fault Avery.” Val said lowering the knife. “You should have just given up.” He didn’t take his eyes off of the younger siren. He took a rough hold of ivy’s chin forcing her head into an angle. “This is on you!” He trusted the knife forward slashing the blade through Ivy’s throat. The alpha fell down immediately to the ground choking on her own blood. 

“No!” Avery said throwing himself towards Ivy. The wall of viburnum threw him back unto the ground. 

“Ivy!” Wren screamed out to her sister. She didn’t care if the others saw her, she had just witnessed her sister killed in cold blood. Ivy lay dead on the ground. “No! No! No!” Wren cried pulling her sister into a tight embrace. This wasn’t something that a wolf could heal from. The others watch in shock as Wren weeps over he sister. 

“I offer you the power of an alpha in exchange for the power of the siren.” Val points the knife down at Avery. Wren sobbed quietly stroking her sister’s hair. The sight broke Robin from Val’s hold. He looked around confused, what was he doing? Stormy kneeled on the ground next to Wren. She had lost Shiloh, and now she had lost Ivy. Her pack was dwindling to nothing. Robin ran up to the two girls falling to his knees to mourn his alpha.

Avery struggled to breath inside the circle of viburnum. The air was growing thicker and thicker; it was like moving in molasses. The young siren squirmed aimlessly from the center of the circle. He wanted to break out but his injuries made it impossible. He tried multiple times to touch the edge but each time he was thrown back; he was just injuring himself further. Val stood watching and laughing at each of Avery’s failed attempts. Avery could sense a strong force filtering into the circle with him. If he didn’t get out that force was surely going to smother him. 

“Just give up.” Val ridiculed his son. “If you don’t fight it will be much easier, less pain.” A throwing star whirred past the siren cutting strands of his hair. He turned to see Mike and Rei running at him full force. Mike whipped another star at him. Val barely managed to dodge the star, he glared at the young girl angrily. “Kill them!” He snapped at the other who were still under his control. The controlled stood up and charged at Val’s oncoming attackers. Rei dodged all of the controlled and barged directly towards the circle. He was human, humans could pass viburnum. If he broke the circle, then the ritual would be broken and Val couldn’t have complete power. He dove unto the platform only to be pushed aside by Val. He landed on his side several feet away. Rei rolled himself quickly and unto his feet and ran at Val again. Val laughed at the young hunter pushing him into the freezing water. Rei surfaced, gasping for air his body in shock from the violent temperature change. 

“You won’t be able to enter the circle.” Val said turning to face him. Mike wrapped her leg around Roz’s leg pushing down and out of her way. She hurdled over Harley who was struggling against Bea on the ground. She ran straight for the circle like Rei had. Val pushed her away just as easily as he had done to Rei. “Even if you reached the circle only someone with pure thoughts can break the circle.” Val laughed. Mike pushed herself to her feet preparing for another try at the circle. She just wanted to save Avery. She needed to save Avery. 

Wren still held on to Ivy’s body as the others fought each other around her. Robin was having a hard time keeping Kit in his manticore form away from the girls. Wren didn’t care, none of that mattered, her sister was gone. She had lost her entire family. 

“Wren, we need to keep fighting!” Stormy whispered to her. “You’re our alpha now!” Wren was the beta, with Ivy gone she had to step into the alpha’s position. Wren shook her head. She didn’t want to be the alpha, Ivy was the one meant to be the alpha not Wren. She didn’t feel any different. She had always imagined that if she became the alpha that she would feel a surge of power running through her, but she felt nothing but pain. 

The force inside the circle was suppressing Avery more and more. He took a deep breath, as deep as he could, which wasn’t much. The only thing he had left was a sonic scream. Avery screamed as loud as he could. The thick air muffled his powers. He felt like a damned mime trapped inside an invisible wall. Silver lights swirled above him concentrating in brightness. It was the silver of a siren’s eyes. Avery could feel something in the circle with him, he didn’t know what it was but it wasn’t good. Something forcefully pushed down flat on the ground. Avery tried to move but he was being pinned by some invisible force. 

Rei climbed out of the river glaring at Val. He was determined to be the one to break the circle. Mike swung at Val with both her fists as one keeping her strikes low, using her size to her advantage. Her fists hit Val at the side of the knees making him stumble off of the platform. He grabbed her by the hair holding her at bay. He aimed Avery’s knife at her, preparing to stab her with it. Val groaned feeling a sharp pain in his calf. The pain withdrew only to be struck again in the same place. He threw Mike to the ground turning to see Rei behind him. Rei removed his blade from the siren’s calf. It was one of Rei’s hidden weapons, he had his shoes especially made to conceal silver blades under the toes. Rei lunged forward swiping his leg slashing at the siren again. Rei kept kicking at Val forcing the siren to move away from the platform with each swing of the hunter’s legs.   
Avery continued to fight with the invisible force holding him down. He was getting more and more desperate. The silver lights were getting closer and more suffocating by the second. The lights were close enough that if he reached up, his hands would wrist deep in them. He continued to trying to move but was getting nowhere. 

“No!” He screamed. His powers rippled through the air sinking into the lights like it was sinking into water. The lights swirled inches from his face. Avery turned his face to the side as if it was going to help him keep the lights at bay. The lights were so close they were stifling him. He couldn’t catch his breath. He was getting light headed and could feel himself losing consciousness. 

Until he became submerged into the lights. 

The others sat in awe as the circle of viburnum became a blinding pillar of light. Avery’s body was the only shadow inside. He screamed and writhed on the ground in pain. 

“No!” Avery’s voice was stronger than usual. His body felt like electricity was running through him, and trying to escape. Every muscle in his body felt like it was cramping simultaneously. His back arched at a painful angle. Mike felt like she was watching a demonic possession take place. Val’s control over Roz broke at the sight of her brother contorting in agony in the center of the viburnum.

“Avery?” She asked letting go of Maja. “What the hell is going on?” She didn’t recall much of what had happened. Mike ran past her towards the viburnum circle. Rei was keeping Val busy this was her chance to break the circle and save Avery. She was tackled to the ground by Bea and the two rolled on the floor. Mike held Bea’s hands out to keep the older hunter from hurting. Mike lifted her leg and kicked out pushing Bea off of her. She rolled to her side standing up preparing for Bea to do the same.   
Roz took her cue from Mike and charged at the viburnum circle. Whatever was happening was not good, her brother was in trouble so she was planning on the “save now, ask questions later” method. She dove into the circle prepared to save her brother. She had no idea what the lights would do to her but she didn’t care, she couldn’t let Val get compete power. She didn’t make it in. The wall of light deflected her tossing her aside like she was nothing. Roz landed hard on her back skidding across the grass. She rolled unto her side in pain, she tried to push herself up but her side hurt too much. She was sure nothing was broken but that didn’t dull the pain at all. Maja ran to her helping her up. Roz clung to her breathing deeply to get through the pain. 

Avery began convulsing inside the viburnum circle. Every part of his body was on fire. He could feel a dark presence trying to pry its way into his body. The dark entity was in the silver light. He couldn’t keep it away anymore; he could feel his will chipping away. 

“Help me!” Avery pleaded shaking violently. “Please.” He whispered. His breathing slowed down. His body stopped shaking.

“Avery?” Roz called out to her brother she took as step forward but the pain held her back.

“He’s not breathing.” Wren said looking up at the platform. Her face was tear-streaked. “He’s not breathing.” She handed Ivy’s lifeless body to Stormy. She was still distraught about her sister and alpha but she knew Ivy would never forgive her if she let someone else die because she was busy crying. Ivy had always been the strong one, she made the hard decisions even when others didn’t like her for it, but she did what was best for everyone. Ivy was a real leader, and now she had to be the leader, and what was best for everyone was saving Avery. She charged at Val who was still fighting off Rei’s knives. “Let him go!” She ordered pushing the siren using all of her strength. The alpha power may not have ascended into her yet but she was still stronger than most werewolves’ as a beta. Her push send Val flying into the river almost reaching the other side. With Val out of the way she turned her attention to Avery who still lay motionless inside the circle. 

The lights around him swirled faster and faster. The others watched as the light forced themselves inside of Avery. His eyes open wide in shock as he breathed in the lights. His lungs ached like a thousand needles were trying to make them explode. He tried to scream out but lights were rushing into him way too quickly. Avery consumed all of the lights leaving him motionless again only lit by the dancing fire light. He still with a blank look on his face, his body felt numb, he wanted to move but he couldn’t. The only part of him moving was his chest, it rose and fell quickly. His heart was racing, he was panicking. Tears rolled down his eyes, he couldn’t help he had lost the fight. Val had won the battle, he was going to die and Val was going to get his powers. His head fell to the side, his eyes moved around searching. His eyes found his sister who was still clinging to Maja for support.

“You won’t win.” Avery whispered to himself. He wasn’t dead yet, he had to keep fighting. He closed his eyes gathering all the will he had left in his body. There was one thing he could do, it was the one thing he could do that Val couldn’t. He screamed at the top of his lungs. He wasn’t going to die there, not as a sacrifice.


	22. Pure Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In order to save Avery the sacrifice ritual needs to be stopper. Will any of his friends be able to do it.

Chapter 21 Pure Heart 

Avery’s scream was piercing and ground shaking. Everyone turned to look at him. Brooks, Bea, and Kit were broken out of Val’s hold on them. The viburnum circle around Avery began to shake but held its shape. The group watched the siren convulsing on the ground. The wolves had to cover their ears from the strength of the siren’s scream.

Val lifted himself from the river glaring at Wren. Wren and Rei watched the older siren try to shake the dirty water from the river off of him. Wren may have been a beta wolf but Val was a siren, and he knew she was no match for him. He stomped up to the werewolf leaving wet footprints along the way and swung at her backhanded. The hit was loud, Rei flinched just from seeing it. Wren fell backwards almost landing in the fire. Pain shot through her head, Val had a strong arm. She shook her head trying to clear the pain. Val turned his attention to Rei again. Rei took a step back.

Mike ran towards the viburnum circle again. Val’s powers were faltering; this was her chance. Avery needed her help and she was determined to save him. It didn’t matter what happened to her because her best friend needed her. She ran past the fire and the others directly towards Avery. His screaming was hurtful but she pushed through it. She lunged forward, she was expecting the viburnum wall to deflect her like it had Roz but she never felt herself hit a wall. She felt her feet land on the platform. She looked around, everyone looked was surprised that she had made it. She had made it! She turned her head looking down at Avery, he was still in pain but he looked up at her with hope in his eyes. His eyes were glowing brightly the same color as the light that he had consumed.

“I’m here.” She whispered leaning down pulling him into a tight hug. She felt the tears running down her face; she had almost lost him. He wrapped his arms around her breathing in relief, his hold on her was weak. The moment the two of them touched, the power inside the circle died out. Avery sighed his body going lax. The light inside him seeped out lazily out of every pore in his body. To the others he looked like he was glowing. The light filled the circle that the two of them were in. Mike didn’t let go of him.

“How did you get in?” Avery looked up at her. Mike shrugged she wasn’t sure, she didn’t really care. All that mattered was that she was in. The circle started humming with power again. The two young hunters held each other tighter unsure of what was happening. 

“No!” Val yelled angrily. 

The viburnum circle exploded. The pieces of viburnum flew away in to the trees disappearing. The silvers lights started swirling around again, they moved like they didn’t know where to go. Mike helped Avery stand up, he struggled but he managed. Avery was free. The swirling lights lowered themselves dancing around the two hunters slowly dissipating. 

“Damn you!” Val yelled at them. Mike turned to him smiling she had ruined his plans; she had saved Avery. Val closed his eyes breathing and pulling Rei down in front of him. Everything moved in slow motion. 

“Rei.” Mike whispered moving forward. She felt chills run down her body.

Her heart dropped at the sight. Val smiled at her that time. She may have ruined his plan but he was going to ruin her life. Roz moved forward pushing Maja away. Val had Rei, she had to help him. Val placed his hand under Rei’s chin not breaking eye contact with Mike. Rei tried to pull Val’s hands away from him.

He twisted Rei’s head to the side. The breaking of his bones was heard by all of them.

“No!” Both women screamed simultaneously. Roz fell to her knees looking helplessly at Rei. Mike turned to Avery hugging him distraught. 

Rei fell lifeless to the ground. 

Mike cried into Avery’s shoulder at the loss of her brother. He was gone, she had lost her brother. She knew she had to keep fighting but it was easier said than done. Her breathing became staggered, she swayed lightly. She clutched unto his shirt. Avery’s eyes were on Val. Val was going to die, even if it was the last thing that Avery accomplished. Avery shifted his weight to move off of the platform but the platform creaked loudly. He could feel it begin to give. The explosion must have weakened the integrity of the platform. 

“Stay still.” Avery said pulling Mike in closer. They were going to fall through the platform and he knew it. He would be fine, he was a siren he was worried about Mike. Her knees gave out but Avery held on to her tightly. “Mike, stay with me.” He called to her. “Mike.” Mike’s eyes fluttered and she fell out cold. “No.” The platform creaked with the shift of their combined weight. 

The platform broke into several pieces. The two hunters plunged into the ice cold water. Avery held on tightly, Mike was unconscious he couldn’t let her go. The two of them were lucky that even at its deepest the river wasn’t very deep. Ironically Avery wasn’t an avid swimmer considering he was a sea type siren. It was hard for Avery to propel the both of them without the use of his hands. Avery let himself sink down to the bottom of the river. The river was only about a foot deeper than he was tall, he was going to use the riverbed to push himself to the edge of the river to get Mike back to safety. They had always assumed that if they were in this type of situation that Mike would be the one to swim them out of it. She was a great swimmer. 

Val strolled along the side of the river. He laughed to himself watching the air bubbles rising to the water surface. He wasn’t worried about the others attacking him, they were too focused on mourning their dead. Brooks sprinted to the edge of the water prepared to dive in to save the two hunters in the water. Val rolled his eyes at the wolf. He let his talons extend and swung at the blond wolf. Brooks moved quickly out of his reach. Val’s swing missed Brooks. The wolf shifted his body and roared at him to intimidate him, it was comical to the siren he had fought and killed bigger and scarier things. The others watched as both wolf and siren swiped at each other causing only cosmetic damage. Brooks slashed at Val catching only his shirt. It was useless for the two of them to keep fighting they were too equally matched.

Avery broke through the surface of the water still with Mike in hand. The water rippled around him, his anger affecting the water, he was after all in his element. He moved towards the edge of the water. He was freezing, he could feel himself shiver but he didn’t care. He carried Mike past Val and Brooks and set her down next to the fire. He watched her breath for a second to make sure she truly was safe.

“Keep her warm!” He ordered to the others turning his attention to Val. Bea ran to kneel next to Mike. She took off her jacket and peeled off Mike’s wet freezing clothes. She needed to get her dry. Avery had decided. He was going to kill Val. He took off running at the older siren. He had lost friends, Mike had lost her brother, and Wren had lost her sister, he wasn’t going to let Val take anyone else away from him. He focused his power taking all of the strong emotions around him and screamed directing it at Val. Even in the darkness of the late night he could see his powers rippling through the air. The force of his power threw Val into the air. The group watched as he crashed into a tree yards away from them. He fell to the ground like a ragdoll. Brooks looked at Avery, his eyes were shining brightly silver illuminating his face. The wolf could feel the rush of power from the siren. “Brooks, get everyone away from here.” Avery ordered. Avery’s voice echoed through the air, the water rippled along with his anger. Brooks knew it was the siren inside Avery fueling his powers. 

“No.” Val said, his voice echoed louder than Avery’s he was more experienced but his voice didn’t make the water ripple. “Kill them all.” He ordered. The large group of arachnes roared from the other side of the river. The wolves and hunters had forgotten that the arachnes were even there. Avery ignored the oncoming arachnes keeping his focus on Val. He may not have been as experienced as Val but he was just as strong, one of them was going to die at the end of the night. He may not have his music box but he didn’t need it anymore, he knew if he kept his anger focused at Val he would be fine. The arachnes attacking would cause the emotions of the others to rise, and Avery planned on using them to fuel his attacks. Avery makes his way towards the older siren. 

Val took a deep breath extending his wings. The shift sounded just as painful as it had before. He flapped his wings several times and took off into the air. The gust of air made the large fire flicker for a few seconds before it came back to full power. Avery looked up into the sky trying to spot Val. He didn’t see anything aside from the moon. He could hear Val’s wings every once in a while but he still couldn’t see him. One of the arachnes fell in front of him dead. He turned to see Robin roaring into the air in victory over the dead spider. Avery stepped away from the Arachne still looking up into the air searching for Val. He was surprisingly calm considering the situation he was in. Avery heard Kit roar in his manticore form. It reminded him of when he fought Kit in the middle of the tall grasses. He had used the emotions in the air to locate him. Avery focused on the emotions that the others were emanating while fighting. He imagined the sonar in his mind. The dancing lights created by the emotions in the air showed up in glimpses. The area around him was an orgy of different shades of red. It was blinding him, imprinting the red into his eyes. He looked up into the sky still envisioning the sonar radiating into the air around him. The lights in the sky swirled in circles. Reds mixed with pale yellows and baby blues. Avery knew what those three colors meant. Red, anger. Blue, fear. Yellow, paranoia. Val was scared, he knew that Avery had the capabilities to kill him. The trail of three colors stopped flying directly in front of him. Val was about to dive down at him. Avery readied himself keeping his sight on the trail of emotions Val left behind. The younger siren waited until the last second to side step the older siren. Even when tucked into his side, Val’s wings were large and easy to grab. Avery watched his father land on the ground safely. He grabbed the nearest wing and used it to throw the older siren into the ground. He didn’t give Val time to react. He swung his leg out hooking over the large feather throwing his body weight twisting the wing. The bones in the wings were hollow and easy to break. Val screamed in anguish making everyone else stop to look at him. Even the arachnes were distracted by the sirens fighting. Roz looked in awe as her brother attacked the other siren mercilessly. His eyes glowed brightly in the darkness. Avery let go of Val’s wings walking around the older siren watching him attempting to take flight again. 

Avery felt in control, he had the upper hand. He set his foot down on Val’s good wing. Val thrashed at him but Avery remained out of reach. He placed more pressure on the older siren’s wing. 

“I’m going to enjoy this.” Avery chuckled lifting his foot away. “Just like you enjoyed killing my friends.” He stomped down on Val’s. His second wing broke just as easily as his first. Avery let out a loud laugh taking one of the many feathers falling from Val’s wings. He placed it behind his ear to decorate his victory over the older siren. Val tried to stand up only to be pushed back down by Avery. 

Roz screamed in pain. Avery turned his attention from Val to his sister. She lay on the ground a dark spider web-like pattern rising up her arm. 

“Roz.” He called to her moving to help her. He felt a burning pain in his leg. He fell to the ground immediately. Val clawed at his lower half with his talons ripping into his skin. Avery tried to push Val off of him but Val clung to him with murder in his eyes. He needed to get to Roz, he had to get her to the house to give her the antidote. Blood splattered all over Val’s face from Avery’s abdomen. Val was feeding off of Avery’s pain, his terror, his worry for his sister. He couldn’t let it end this way. Avery lifted his leg wrapping it around the older male. The river’s edge was only a couple of feet away from them, if he could get to it he could heal himself. He swung his body with everything he had. The two men barrel rolled down into the water. The younger siren could feel his healing taking effect quickly. The water was murky and dark but he could feel where everything was. It was like he was some kind of were-dolphin and he could feel everything through sonar. He swam closer to Val who was trying to pull himself out of the water. Avery reached out grabbing Val’s leg. He pulled the older siren back into the water with him. Val thrashed around reaching for the edge of the river but Avery pulled him farther into the water submerging both of them. He was stronger in the water, his senses spiked to an all-time high. Val kicked and clawed at him but his wounds healed instantly under the water. 

“Just let go.” Avery mocked. His voice carried through the ripples in the water. “It’ll be easier if you don’t struggle.” Val’s panic was intoxicating to him, he wanted more of it, he needed it. Avery couldn’t have just snapped the older siren’s neck and get it over with, but he was petty, and he wanted his father to suffer. Val thrashed more violently begging for release. Being so close to the older siren allowed Avery to feel everything he was going through like he was reading his mind. He felt the slight burn in his lungs from the lack of air, the migraine like his head was going to explode. Val must have felt the pain multiple times worse. “Now I see why you didn’t let any of your kids come into their powers.” Avery spoke again. Val closed his eyes finally giving up and breathing in. He went unconscious falling limp in Avery’s arm. Avery let him fall to the bottom of the river. He bend down taking a hold of Val’s head.

He twisted it with everything he had. He heard the crunching sound of bones snapping. It was over, Val was dead. He let Val’s body fall down again he would deal with it later, his sister needed him. Avery ran out of the river directly to his sister. She still stood shaking on the ground. The werewolves and other hunters stood confused looking at the arachnes, the spider creatures looked just as confused. Val’s hold on them was gone, they probably had no clue where they were.

“Go home.” Avery demanded. Without much effort he felt his voice carry over the air towards the arachnes. “Don’t hurt anyone, travel by night to not be seen.” All of the arachnes began scurrying into the woods ignoring the hunters and wolves. Avery turned back to his sister. “Roz, I’m gonna try something.” He lifted her with ease. Val only been dead a few minutes but Avery felt the powers inside him growing. He took his sister with him back towards the edge of the water setting her down waist deep into it. She shook in pain when the water hit the web-like veins growing on her skin. Avery sat next to going into the water. He took her hand and placed his other hand over her wound. Touching Val while underwater let him feel everything the older man felt, touching Roz while in the water should let him heal her. 

“How are you doing that?” Roz asked taking deep breaths. She could feel the pain dulling away along with the dark webs on her skin. 

“I’m a sea siren.” Avery whispered watching the glow in his sister’s skin coming back. “Water is my natural element.” Roz laughed starting to tear up, she thought that she was done. She knew that if her brother hadn’t been able to heal her she would have never made it back to the house. 

“Thank you.” She whispered pulling him into a hug. She didn’t care that the two of them fell into the cold water, they were alive, they had made. She had lost Rei, she had almost lost her brother, she was lucky she was alive.

“Do you think the arachnes in Chicago went back home too?” Avery asked pulling him and his sister out of the water. Roz shrugged she figure that they had.

“Without Val to control them they probably split up and looked for the closest forest.” Taima said stretching her muscles, she was sore all over. 

“What happened to Ivy’s powers?” Wren asked from the ground where she sat holding her sister’s body. “Isn’t it supposed to go to the next in line?” She looked down at her sister’s face and moved the hair from her eyes. “I don’t feel stronger or anything.” She looked to Robin, he was the next in line after her. He shook his head.

“Val used it as a sacrificial offering.” Taima explained. “It was part of the force in the circle of viburnum with Avery.” She sat on the ground letting the fire keep her warm. “When Mike broke the circle it should have broken the offering letting the power find another source.”

“So Avery took it?” Brooks asked. He held Mike in a fireman’s carry, she was still out cold. 

“No,” Avery shook his head. “I would have felt it, just like I felt the difference in my powers when Val died.”

“The power had to have found someone to enter.” Taima explained. 

“Mike.” Harley said. She limped slight with a small gash on her leg. “She passed out immediately after, maybe the power was too much for her since she was human.” The group looked at Mike, I made sense she was the nearest person to the power it could have easily been given to her. 

“So Mike is our alpha now?” Wren asked. Taima shook her head.

“She will become whatever she was meant to become.” 

“I don’t understand,” Wren said. “She was given the powers of an alpha werewolf, she should be an alpha werewolf.”

“She wasn’t willing.” Kit said from behind Taima. “You become the same as what bit you if you took the bite willingly agreeing to be one of them, otherwise you become whatever you were meant to be.” He sighed looking at Mike. “It’s how I became a manticore.” The group debated over what Mike might become as they tried to put out the large fire, luckily there was water and sand nearby. 

Avery stood in awe watching his friends and family. They had all risked, some of them even lost their lives, to help him. He was lucky, he was very lucky to have them in his life. He had no idea what he had done to deserve such loyalty and love from them. Roz leaned her head on his shoulder sighing deeply her eyes on Rei. She still couldn’t believe that she had lost him. 

“Let’s go home.” Avery whispered squeezing her hand. The group walked back in darkness letting the wolves lead the way. 

Avery carried Mike so that Brooks could carry Rei. Avery looked down fondly at Mike, she had broken the circle. She had put her life on the line to save him. She had a pure heart. He held on to her tightly.


	23. Lingering Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight is over. But there is still some lose ends to tie up.

Chapter 22 Lingering Thoughts

The walk back to the house was silent. The group was surrounded by nothing but the darkness and rustling of the grass they trotted through. Inside Roz didn’t want to reach the house. If she reached the house it would mean that everything was really over, and Rei was really gone. How was she going to tell her parents and the council? She held on to her brother’s arm the entire way. Being so close to him comforted her through everything that was happening. She wasn’t aware that her brother was doing his best to drain the negative energy from her. 

Avery was trying to adapt to his newfound powers. Every second since Val’s death he discovered new abilities. The abilities had always been there, adding Val’s powers to his own allowed him to tap into them without a hassle. He felt everything that his sister was feeling but kept his face stern not to let her know that. 

“What are we going to do with Rei, Shiloh, and Ivy?” Bea asked turning back to look at Roz. Roz turned to her brother in question. 

“We should call the council.” Avery said. 

“The council won’t like that you worked with werewolves.” Robin said being the first one to reach the porch. 

“I don’t know if I want the council to know I’m alive.” Kit admitted looking to the other hunters. “My family is not like yours.” He turned to Roz and Avery. “They’ll kill me once they find out I’m a manticore.” 

Avery nodded in understanding. “We can call them tomorrow morning, hold a burial for Ivy and Shiloh before they arrive.” He turned to Wren, he was pretty sure he knew the answer to the question he was going to ask but he had to. “Do you have any other family you want to contact?” 

“Ivy was all I had.” She shook her head. “Her and the pack.” She leaned against Robin. 

“Okay.” Avery responded. “Unfortunately none of you can be around when the other hunters and the council arrive.” He looked to Brooks and Harley. “You won’t want to be here either Harley.” She nodded. 

“But for now we need to rest.” Roz said finally pulling away from Avery. “Let’s put them in the basement where it’s cool for now.” She opened the door to let the others in.

The group stood looking over the people they had lost. It felt odd to have to leave them in the basement alone, they didn’t want to. They didn’t want to face the reality of losing friends and family.   
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Avery sat upstairs in Mike’s room tucking her into her bed. Brooks had checked her heart rate and breathing before he took Rei downstairs. Avery just wanted to curl up next to her and sleep all of their problems away. 

“I’ll uh…fix your window.” Brooks offered from the window. 

“Well you were the one that broke it.” Avery chuckled covering Mike with her blanket. He stood up peeling his jacket off. He could feel the muck and dirt from the river still clinging to his skin. “Let’s just tape it up for now and fix it after all of this is done.” He closed Mike’s door behind him. Brooks looked over his face, his expression almost desperate.

“I thought I was going to lose you.” The wolf whispered. “I couldn’t…” His voice broke. Avery looked away not wanting to see the older man cry. “I couldn’t deal with losing you.” Avery took Brooks’s hand squeezing it. 

“I’m still here.” Avery reminded him. “We are both okay.” He pulled him into a tight hug. 

“I’ve lost everyone,” Brooks cried into his shoulder. “I can’t lose you or Mike, I don’t think I could survive that.” He felt the wolf’s heart break as if it was his own. “I’ll fix this.” Brooks said taking both of Avery’s hands. “I know I messed up but I’ll fix it.” Brooks meant every word he said but Avery was still unsure. Things were different now. Harley was a big difference to their relationship.

“Brooks, I…”

“I know, Harley.” Brooks smiled wiping his eyes. “But I’m going to prove to you that you and I belong together.”

“What about Wren?” Avery asked. He had tried to ignore the obvious tension between the two wolves but he had no choice but to feel it. “You can’t tell me that there isn’t something between the two of you.” There was no anger or bitterness in the siren’s voice he was just stating facts to the other man.

“My feelings for her are nothing, it was just a sexual attraction.” He explained. “I love you.”

“And I love you too.” Avery explained. “But those “nothing” feelings were enough for you to jeopardize what we had.” The words stung Brooks but there was no denying any of them. “I just need time.” Avery admitted. He still loved Brooks but he was unsure, his trust had been shattered. He had feelings for Harley but he couldn’t compare them to his love for Brooks. Still he couldn’t just brush her off like she was nothing to him. She had fought for him, she had put her trust in him, and his siren had felt how she felt about him. It helped that she was so open about her feelings with him, something that both he and Brooks struggled with. 

“I’ll wait.” Brooks sniffled. “For you, I’d wait forever.” Of course now was the time that Brooks learned to use his words to express himself. 

“I’m gonna shower and then we can drive into to town and get dinner for everybody.” He bumped his forehead lightly against Brooks’s and walked down the hall into his room. The wolf watched the younger man walking away, he was convinced that he was going to get Avery back. 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Harley sat in the living room quietly. The entire thing was officially over but she wasn’t sure if she should just leave or wait to talk to Avery. She wasn’t sure where the two of them stood. She didn’t know if she should talk to anyone about anything she had seen. She had too many questions for him. Avery finally came down after some time. 

“Hi.” She greeted dusting herself off, she hadn’t noticed how dirty she really was until she saw how clean he was. 

“Hey.” Avery smiled walking down the steps. “Came to check on you, make sure you were okay.” Harley shrugged, she didn’t really know how she was holding up about the whole ordeal. She needed the time to process.

“I don’t really know what to think of everything that happened.” She admitted. “It all happened so fast.” Avery took her hands. She was slightly shaken…understandably. 

“It’s over.” Avery whispered pulling her into a hug. “We did it. It’s over.” It was the words his mother and father used to console him after his first hunt when he was fourteen. It was often a mind altering experience to deal with the supernatural for the first time. He moved his thumb up and down her hand for comfort. 

“So all of those things are real?” She asked looking up at him. “Sirens, werewolves, whatever.” She sat back down on the couch. Avery followed her sitting next to her. He nodded.

“Yeah,” Avery said. “That’s why my family does what they do.” 

“But they hunt supernatural things,” She said. “and you’re a siren so…?” It didn’t really make sense to her. 

“My siren thing is kind of a secret to the majority of the other hunters.”

“What about the ones that know here?” She motioned to the house around her, everyone in the house was either resting or cleaning themselves up. “Aren’t you afraid they will turn on you?”

“That was the main reason why Mike, Brooks, and I moved here to begin with.” He smiled. Harley shifted her weight turning towards him.

“So what is happening with you and Brooks?” She asked. “Because I kind of want to know where that leaves us.”

“I don’t know.” He sighed. “Honestly I have feelings for both of you.” Hearing Avery say that surprised her, she knew how much longer he had been with Brooks and assumed he would choose him in the end. “I’m not sure if I can trust him the same way as before.” He turned to look at her. Even with the dirt all over her she still looked like a fairy princess. “I just need some time to think things over.” She understood that. She herself needed some time to think things over, being with Avery would mean that events like the one that just happened would become more frequent. 

“What do I do now?” She asked. “Where do I go from here?”

“You just can’t tell anybody.” He answered. “Exposing yourself and others puts you in danger.” She didn’t like that thought. “You have us to protect you now. I will do what I can to keep you safe.” He added. He wished that she had not gotten involved in everything, she didn’t ask for this. 

“Guess that means that I should be gone by the morning then.” She smiled weakly. He agreed, she was right.

“I’ll call you,” He offered. “We can keep talking once the hunting council leaves.”

“Are you staying here?” She asked. He hadn’t thought of that. “You left home to be away from them. Now they will know where you are.” 

“There is no escaping the hunting world.” He admitted. “There is no point for me to run anymore, there will always be something after me.” He dreaded his future just thinking about it. “Might as well make this place my home and fight it off with the help of my friends.” She understood that, it made sense. 

“Okay.” She nodded standing up. “I guess I’ll go home and clean up, wait for your call.” She smiled. He walked her to her car and watched from his porch as she drove off. He went back inside once her car disappeared from view. He made her promise to text him when she was home safe. 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The group of hunters sat in the living room getting their stories straight. They had to figure out what they were going to say when the council arrived. Roz played with her phone in her hands. She was the one that would have to make the call. She would have to report about Rei’s death. Once she called they would only have half a day before the council arrived, if that. 

Wren had decided that her sister and Shiloh would be buried along with the rest of her family and former pack. They had a burial ground in the woods behind their home. She and her two other pack members sat on the couch waiting for the hunters to make the call. They planned to follow them and help with the burial, they had to, the two had fallen fighting along their side. Robin sat in the middle of the couch flipping through the channels occupying himself. He wanted a distraction.

“Just call them.” Avery said. “Mom and Dad will help us figure something out.” Roz nodded dialing the training facilities emergency number. Dead tone. She dialed again. 

Dead tone. 

“The lines dead.” She said searching through her phone for other numbers. “That makes no sense, Val is dead, his control over people is gone.” She pressed the call button. “The phones should be back on.”

“Pass me the computer.” Maja said to Bea. Bea opened the lap top and place it in front of her. “I should be able to find something online to get through to them.” The others watched as she typed information that made no sense to them. Avery sat across from her waiting for something to come up. “The system is down.” She said still typing. “The main server is in the building but it’s not on.”

“Guys.” Robin said standing up from where he sat. The hunters turned to look at the large wolf. “Is that the building?” He turned the volume up on the television. The group gathered around it. 

The screen showed an attractive woman in a blazer standing in front of a crowded street. Behind her were fire trucks and firemen running around. The hunters all felt the shock hit them immediately. Their stomachs dropped. Roz reached out for her brother, tears already welling in her eyes. 

“The facility.” Bea said watching the building burning. 

“Our families were all in there.” Maja cried. Stormy walked over to Maja hugging her tightly. Maja had been the one to give her the most comfort when she lost Shiloh.

“It seems that the doors were barricaded from the outside locking everyone inside.” The reporter said. “We are not sure how many inside have perished.” She continued. People behind started screaming and running away. Roz jumped when she saw the building on the screen explode. Brooks rushed into the room hearing the reporter from upstairs. He immediately walked towards Avery standing close behind him, he needed to be there for the siren.

“What are we gonna do?” Bea asked looking around to the others. Her face was already tear streaked and her voice cracked as she spoke. “It wasn’t just our families, hunters from all over the worlds were inside!”

“We are all that’s left now.” Kit said sitting on the ground. He sobbed lightly, pulling his knees closer to his chest. He reached up and took a hold of Avery’s hand, being around the siren was calming somehow. Although he hated Val his powers were all that he had known for the last year, Avery had Val’s power now. Being around the younger siren brought him a weird sense of calm. Any other time the act of holding hands would have been weird for both of them but they had set their differences aside. 

“What is going to happen when supernatural creatures find out that there is no council anymore?” Maja asked. She held on tightly to Stormy.

“There will be war between hunters and the supernatural for power.” Bea said.

Avery shook his head. He ignored the tears running down his face. He wanted to breakdown, his parents were dead. From the way the fire looked there was no way out. He cleared his throat before speaking, he needed to keep going, it’s what his parents would have done. “There is still a hunting council.” The others looked at him in confusion. He was making no sense the entire hunting council was inside the facility. “We are the new hunting council.” He said watching the building fall apart on the screen through tear filled eyes.


End file.
